


Ice Poppies

by webeta123



Series: Ice Gardens [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Bashing, Creature Inheritances, Elves-Freeform, Elvin Culture, F/F, F/M, Fae Culture, Faes-Freeform, Good Slytherins, Hogwarts-Sentient Being, M/M, Mpreg, OCs-Freeform, Off-screen Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Slash, Tags Subject to Change, WIP, Werewolves-Freeform, transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2017-12-22 06:13:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 63,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/909865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webeta123/pseuds/webeta123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years have passed since Harry Potter was adopted by Remus Lupin. This time around, Harry is learning about what it means to be at Hogwarts while also finding out his own potential. Those around him are willing to help in any way they can, but they have to be careful so that he is not caught in the crossfires. All the while, Harry is learning about his elvin magic and hoping that he will be ready when his creature inheritance finally comes with his best friend, Draco Malfoy, but his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snippets from a Scrapbook

Children need more than anything in the world to know that they are loved. They need to feel the warmth of their guardian’s embrace, the kindness of their loved one’s voice, the care and comfort of those who have devoted themselves to their protection. And parents, the good ones at least, find their own way to portray it. Whether it is by steadfast support or more noticeable gestures, these parents in their own way show their love for those who they have brought into this world.

One way that Remus Lupin has shown this to his son is through a scrapbook, a simple brown leather bound one, which holds all of the newspaper articles that involves him, all of the drawings created, and all of the pictures over the years as the boy has grown past his horrid circumstances into a bright and glowing future.

_June 7 th, 1988_

_WHERE IS HARRY POTTER’S MOTHER FIGURE?  
By Rita Skeeter_

_July 31 st, 1988_

_Harry’s eighth birthday party_

_August 2 nd, 1988_

_HARRY POTTER JOINS WIZARD SCOUTS  
By Eliza Beasley _

_October 19 th, 1988 _

_TRELAWNY DIES OF ALCOHOL POISONING- FOUL PLAY NOT SUSPECTED AND WHY AN ALCOHOLIC WAS ALLOWED TO TEACH AT HOGWARTS.  
By Rita Skeeter_

_October 31 st, 1988_

_(From left to right) Harry (the pirate), Neville (the vampire) and Draco (the prince) dressed up for trick-or-treating_

_November 2 nd, 1988_

_DIVORCES:  
Molly and Arthur Weasley_

_January 9 th, 1989_

_HOGWARTS NURSE CONVICTED OF MALPRACTICE- DECLARES THAT SHE WAS CONFOUNDED. AURORS INVESTIGATE_

_February 19 th, 1989_

_OBITUARIES:  
Narcissa Lyra Malfoy nee Black died in childbirth yesterday. Survived by her husband Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and her two children, Draco Lucius Malfoy and Callisto Tania Malfoy_

_April 1 st, 1989_

_POTTER RISES THROUGH SCOUT BADGES  
By Eliza Beasley_

_June 5 th, 1989_

_Draco and Harry wearing their ice rose crowns at Draco’s ninth birthday with Draco holding his little sister, Callisto (Callie)_

_June 15 th, 1989_

_SNAPE LEAVES FOR AUROR CORPS- WHAT THIS MEANS FOR HOGWARTS STAFF  
By Rita Skeeter_

_June 19 th, 1989_

_NEW POTIONS MASTER ON CAMPUS- EXCLUSIVE TELL-ALL FROM POTIONS MASTER  
By Eliza Beasley_

_June 24 th, 1989_

_Harry feeding Callie with protective big brother Draco nearby._

_July 20 th, 1989_

_WHY FAES AND ELVES HAVE BEGUN APPEARING AT HOGWARTS AGAIN- ELVIN RULER SPEAKS OUT  
By Rita Skeeter_

_July 29 th, 1989_

_DUMBLEDORE QUESTIONED ABOUT FAE AND ELF REAPPEARANCE.  
By Rita Skeeter_

_July 31 st, 1989_

_Harry with his first broom- Comet 1200_

_August 2 nd, 1989_

_Harry with the Madam Maitre Quidditch Team_

_September 7 th, 1989 _

_Harry, Neville and Draco select their study of art. (Madam Maitre requires that Years 3-6 practice some form of instrument or art.)_

_October 9 th, 1989_

_Harry practicing on keyboard. (Not bad.)_

_November 10 th, 1989_

_Harry and Neville practicing their instruments. (Harry-Keyboard, Neville- Violin)_

_December 12 th, 1989_

_GOOD CUPPA IN THE MIDST OF RENOVATIONS  
By Eliza Beasley _

_December 25 th, 1989_

_Harry opening his presents with Draco_

_Remus and Severus caught under the mistletoe- again. (Seriously guys, look up when you walk around on Christmas!)_

_Harry and Draco asleep on the couch._

_January 15 th, 1990_

_GOOD CUPPA FINISHED RENOVATIONS- BIGGER AND BETTER THAN BEFORE  
By Eliza Beasley_

_February 18 th, 1990_

_Callisto’s first birthday party. (From left to right) Severus, Remus, Harry, Callie, Lucius, Draco, Eresa._

_March 15 th, 1990_

_HARRY POTTER RISES TO HAWK STATUS IN WIZARD SCOUTS WITH FRIEND  
By Rita Skeeter_

_April 1 st, 1990_

_AUROR CORPS RETURNS FROM ETHIOPIAN MISSION  
By Eliza Beasley_

_May 19 th, 1990_

_Severus playing with one of the opals he was given during the Ethiopian mission._

_June 5 th, 1990_

_Draco’s tenth birthday party. Harry and Draco in their ice rose crowns and Callie walking around them._

_July 31 st, 1990 _

_Harry’s tenth birthday party. (From left to right) Severus, Lucius (with Callie), Neville, Remus, Harry, Draco, Charlotte, Anydith, Marlena, Augusta_

_August 2 nd, 1990_

_Remus fainting after Severus proposes. There was ~~no definite answer~~ a yes (Lucius get out of Harry’s scrapbook!)_

_August 15 th, 1990_

_LUPIN SEEN WITH ENGAGEMENT RING. SPECULATIONS INSIDE.  
By Rita Skeeter_

_August 16 th, 1990_

_GOOD CUPPA ASSISTANT DENIES ALL ALLEGATIONS OF ENGAGEMENT TO LUPIN  
By Eliza Beasley_

_August 17 th, 1990_

_SNAPE AND LUPIN SEEN LEAVING MINISTRY LEGAL DEPARTMENT TOGETHER--SPECULATIONS INSIDE.  
By Rita Skeeter_

_August 21 st, 1990_

_HARRY POTTER’S GUARDIAN ENTERS CIVIL UNION WITH ANOTHER MAN- HOW WILL THIS AFFECT POTTER?  
By Rita Skeeter_

_August 22 nd, 1990_

_HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT  
By Eliza Beasley_

_August 23 rd, 1990_

_Severus and Remus’s wedding party. (From left to right) Anydith, Hen, Marlena, Charlotte, Romulus, Harry, Remus, Severus, Callie, Lucius, Draco, Kimlor, Eresa_

_Severus and Remus during their first dance._

_Severus and Remus cutting the cake and Remus being an idiot (Severus, get out of the scrapbook! Also, you retaliated!)_

_Harry and Draco dancing._

_October 1 st, 1990 _

_MALE PREGNANCY POTION PERFECTED BY SNAPE- FOR OTHERS OR HIMSELF?  
By Rita Skeeter_

_January 6 th, 1991 _

_AUROR CORPS BRINGS IN MARCUS NOTT FOR MURDER OF WIFE- SON IS ONLY WITNESS  
By Rita Skeeter_

_June 5 th, 1991_

_GOOD CUPPA TO HIRE SUMMER PART-TIME WORK- RISING 5 TH YEARS AND UP PLEASE. _

_Harry and Draco wearing their ice crowns; Draco’s eleventh birthday party_

_Draco’s reaction to getting his Hogwarts letter_

_July 31 st, 1991_

_Harry’s eleventh birthday party_

_Harry’s reaction to getting his Hogwarts letter_

_August 20 th, 1991_

_Harry and Draco going to Diagon Alley for school shopping (Neville had already gotten his things)_

_The boys in Madam Malkin’s getting their robes fitted for Hogwarts (They’re too distracted talking to notice me taking their picture)_

_Harry getting his first wand (Only three wands and two broken windows, better than Severus did!)_

_Severus and Harry getting potion supplies. (And being complete nerds about it.)_

_Harry and Draco salivating over the Nimbus 2000 (Memorable quote: “No broom should look that good!”)_

_Harry finding his familiar (Hedwig, snowy owl) and Draco finding his (Hydra, Bengal kitten)_

_Hydra getting out and Harry and Draco running after her_

_Callie stealing Harry’s and Draco’s wand and Harry and Draco running after her through Diagon Alley._

_Severus looking incredibly proud of his honorary goddaughter._

_Harry and Draco asleep with Callie in between them and the boys having their wands on their ears so the two year old can’t get it._


	2. As If We Never Said Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry get onto the train, Severus scares the bejeebus out of Remus, and mentions of love makes eleven year olds cring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter doesn't have that wanted Sorting, but the next one will. I've got a good feeling about that one and I love all of your reviews :)

_September 1 st, 1991_

“Lucius, the idea that you ever tried to get behind the wheel of a car terrifies me.” Two eleven year old boys grinned to each other as they heard their guardians continuing to bicker and they pushed their carts through the lobby of the train station. Callie sat on the top of Draco’s trunk, giggling as Hydra poked her striped paw out of her wicker cage and batted at the little girl. Hedwig was asleep on top of Harry’s trunk in her cage, her feathered head tucked under her wing as if to block out the sound around her. Both of them had their trunks filled to the brim with their books and robes, ready to begin another phase of their adventures. The boys had stayed up the entire night planning out their Hogwarts days together, Harry excited to finally be in Kimlor’s class and Draco eager to join the Malfoy legacy of Slytherins. Harry still didn’t know which house he would end up in, even five years after he had first learnt of Hogwarts and magic and wizardry.

Sometimes he thought he should end up in Gryffindor like his Papa. His Papa had told him wonderful stories about the people he had met and the friends who had stood by him without doubt. His biological father had been one of those people and his mother had been another. He liked to think he was courageous and brave like they were supposed to be, but there were times that proved otherwise.

Other times he thought he could maybe end up in Slytherin like Mister Lucius and Mister Sev (even though technically he was his legal guardian because of the civil union between him and his Papa, Harry just couldn’t find a good enough title for Severus, so that had to do until he figured out one). Both of them were prime examples of what being a Slytherin was all about. Being cunning and quick-witted, but loyal to those you trust. He had been able to out-wit Albus Dumbledore any time he came into Good Cuppa and tried to figure out if he was friends with Draco. It wasn’t as though he liked the fact he had to lie, but if that meant keeping his family intact and his friends from being hurt, then so be it. Even Mister Sev, who had been Head of Slytherin House at one point, said that Harry was a prime example of Slytherin material.

So, he didn’t know which one he would go in and he had decided one night, lying in bed after writing in the journal he had been given for his seventh birthday and hadn’t stopped writing in since, that he would let the Sorting Hat decide. Even if the twins had fooled him for a while into thinking he would have to fight a troll, Mister Sev had dispelled that pretty quickly.

Ever since Mister Arthur and Miss Molly had broken up, Harry got to see the twins a lot more regularly. Miss Molly had taken Ron and Ginny while Percy, Fred and George had put up enough of a fight to stay with Mister Arthur. Harry knew that he would have to be around Ron since the boy was in his year, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to be too much of a problem.

He nearly ran into Draco when they stopped outside the platform. Lucius and Remus had stopped bickering long enough to see that their boys weren’t going through. Harry and Draco looked at each other and Draco seemed to be fighting off shivers. “Well, who wants to go first?” Remus asked, chipper as a bird. He crossed his arms loosely behind his back as he looked to the two of them. Marlena was watching over Good Cuppa, though she had weaseled a promise out of him that when Charlotte was old enough they would just lock up and not have to send off either of their children alone. Weaseled probably wasn’t a good word for it since they both knew that it would end up that way anyway.

Remus loosely twirled the wedding band on his hand as he watched Draco and Harry play a quick game of Seeker-Bludger-Snitch to see who would go first and thought to his husband. Severus had promised him that he would try and meet them at the station if he could get out of watching over training, but at this point it seemed like it wouldn’t happen. There was no sign of his foreboding husband in the masses of people filtering through King’s Cross.

Harry’s quiet cursing brought Remus’s attention back to them and alerted him of the development. Harry turned to Remus and silently begged him to go with him. Remus chuckled and moved forward, wrapping his hands around the plastic handle and smiling as his son’s hands went over his own. Harry glanced up at him, his glass eye swiveling for a few moments before settling in its new position. Remus smiled down at him and looked straight at the wall between nine and ten. Remus’s opal wedding band glinted against the light underneath Harry’s small hand as they began to walk forward. “It’s good to get a running start.” Remus told him, starting to pick up speed. He felt his son’s hitched breath against his chest as they ran faster, Draco’s yelled encouragements and Callie’s babbled glee echoing behind them as they neared the solid brick wall. In the last moment, Remus gasped himself when spidery pale fingers came over Harry’s hands and they went through.

The train gave a plaintive whine as Remus let go of Harry’s cart and turned to face Severus, who was smiling like the Chesire cat himself. He still wore his Auror robes, long navy blue with gold shoulder pads and his hair pulled into a small ponytail. His glasses hung off of his collar and his simple gold wedding band glinted in the light. He accepted Harry’s running hug and Remus’s kiss to his cheek, still smiling in his Chesire cat way. “I thought you wouldn’t make it.” Remus told him as they turned to watch Draco run through with Lucius holding onto the cart.

“I would never miss seeing my godson and adopted son leave to Hogwarts.” He told him, his smile reverting into the half-smirk-half-smile that had first caught Remus’s attention all of those years ago. “Also, I was told to cover here. Molly Prewitt is going to be dropping off her son and we don’t need an explosion from her.” Remus sucked in a small breath and quickly glanced around to see if he could spot her.

Ever since she had tried to trick his son to drink a love potion, Remus had felt his metaphorical shackles raise. She had tried a few times to reconcile, but after her small blow-up that he had seen in the Penseive proclaiming that his son belonged with her daughter and her son needed to be best friends with Harry, he knew that he could not let her anywhere near his son. It was pure luck that Fred and George had found a bezoar that they had kept for their own experiments and could force it down Harry’s throat before he died from poisoning. Her divorce from Arthur had been rather messy, especially after it came to light the fact that she had used multiple love potions on him during the marriage. It seemed that no one was safe from her tricks.

He was certain that she wasn’t to be seen for the moment and he watched with fond eyes as Severus turned to Callie and swept her up onto his hip. The little girl squealed, her long black hair tumbling down her back and dark brown eyes twinkling with joy. She was a spitting image of her mother but with the high Malfoy cheekbones and the gentle figure. Remus had already been teasing Lucius that he would be putting up Shielding Charms around her by the time she hit Hogwarts and beating away the boys (or girls) with a stick. Lucius had merely smirked and waved his cane dramatically. “Why do you think I keep this around?”

Lucius gave a soft smile at the sight of his best friend holding his little girl with such ease. He would have asked Severus to be her godfather, but considering he was already bond to Draco, there was no easy way to get around that. When he asked Remus to be her godfather, the man had seemed in shock. The Malfoy patriarch had seen it more as a security detail than an honour, especially with the lycanthropic blood in Remus. If Callie and Remus were bound through that bond of godparent/godchild, it was certain that the little girl would be a part of Remus’s pack. And it had worked.

Callie giggled a few more times before hearing the sound of the train’s whistle loud and clear. The small family looked to the train, and then to their sons, who had turned white as ghosts. Harry’s hand immediately went to his necklace, wrapping around the dragon tooth that kept him at ease. He made sure not to let his hand stray to the golden leaf that would have brought the elvin guards to his side, though he was severely tempted. Draco was in the same state, wrapping his hand around a part of his shirt that undoubtedly had his crystal beneath it. Remus went to his son and Callie squirmed out of Severus’s grasp while Lucius went to Draco.

“Harry, you’ll be fine.” Remus promised, though his own trepidation crept through his heart. He pushed this away. Right now, Harry needed to be calmed. “You’ll meet wonderful people, make friendships that… last beyond lifetimes. Maybe even fall in love.” Harry gave him a stony look that told him he had gone too soft. “Just know that no matter what, I’m only a letter away.” Remus told him, smiling warmly. Harry gave a weak laugh and quickly ran forward, hugging his Papa around his neck and shaking.

“Draco, you’ve been waiting for this.” Lucius said, looking down at his son who seemed at odds with himself. His grasp on his crystal hadn’t lessened in the slightest. “Just think about this. Several odd years ago, a young boy who looked just like you got on that train, went into one of the best houses at that school, found a brother whose loyalty is unwavering, and found the love of his life.” Draco glanced up at his father, warning him to get off the subject of love with a look. “And if anything goes wrong, Severus can have half of the Auror force at the school with an Apparation.” This made Draco give a slight look of appreciation and Lucius smirked.

“Maybe not half of the Auror force, but my team at least.” Severus interrupted. Harry laughed and after a few more moments, nodded.

“I’m ready. Draco?”

“I’m ready.” The two boys nodded to each other and collected their trunks and familiars, Draco slinging his cat cage over his shoulder but making sure not to disturb Hydra and Harry holding Hedwig’s cage with reverence. They shuffled down the hallway, Harry keeping an eye on where their family stood until they finally found a compartment and Draco worked out the mechanisms of the window. The train lurched and Harry leaned out the window as Remus went forward, walking beside it.

“Don’t forget to write okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m only a walk away, I’m sure you can get clearance to come down to Hogsmeade if you need to.”

“Okay.”

“If you forgot anything, just let me know, I’ll send it on once you get there.” The train was moving faster and Remus picked up his pace.

“Okay.”

“I love you, cub.” Remus told him with a small smile.

“I love you, Papa.” Harry called over the roar of the train. He pulled away from the window and watched until the station was a mere spot in the sea of green. 


	3. The Long Anticipated Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neville and Ron nearly fight, Harry gets annoyed with his friends and the boys are all Sorted, though not in the houses everyone thought they would go into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sorting Hat's song is all JK Rowling's just like the characters, places, etc.

“I’m torn.” Harry looked up from his copy of his Potions book to look at his friend who was standing. “Do I want to get into my Hogwarts robes _now_ or wait until we get closer?”

“I don’t think it matters. Just so long as you have them before we get into the school you should be fine.” Harry said with a slight shrug, reverting his attention back to his book. He was a bit surprised that Neville hadn’t managed to find them yet, but he figured that the boy would find them soon. If not, they would go out and figure out what had happened. Draco shuffled around the compartment for a few more moments until finally reaching up into the upper bin and pulling his trunk down. Harry rolled his eyes and turned the page with a lick of his thumb.

He listened to clank of buckles and the groan of fresh leather as the trunk was opened and the shuffling of clothes. He propped his feet up on the opposite seat, nudging the trunk sideways slightly with the edge of his foot as Draco fell back against the door with a thud in his attempt to get his shirt off. “You know you don’t have to be starkers underneath your robes right?”

“I know, I’m just trying to get out of these infernal Muggle clothes. Honestly, why can’t we have something more dignified to get to Hogwarts in that doesn’t involve being around Muggles?”

“Muggleborns and it was either this or regulated Portkeys. Don’t really think that would be fun for anyone involved.” Harry explained as he heard Draco toe off his shoes and shrug out of his denims. Both of them had seen the other in less clothes before, so he wasn’t particularly engaged. He heard fabric over skin and the sound of a zipper before he looked up at his friend.

Draco’s skin was still a pasty white, even after all of those summers they spent jumping into the lake not far from Malfoy Manor. The blue whorls and swirls that tapper down his spine, covering the left half of his body are striking contrast to his skin, moving like water down his arms and ending at the ends of his fingers. Callie had spent weeks trying to trace every whorl on her older brother’s hand, even to the point of annoyance to said older brother. He pulled on his white undershirt, hiding his chest and back. He already wore his black dress pants, the fabric flowing nicely to his green and black striped feet. Harry gave a half smile at the sight before glancing up as the compartment door opened.

A girl with hair that seemed to have a life of its own stood on the other side, already wearing her robes. Draco shuffled away from the door as he pulled on his collared shirt and she spoke, “Hello, do you two know where the prefect’s compartment is? There seems to be a bit of trouble brewing down the hall and I think they should be made aware.” Her voice was rather annoying and Harry gave Draco a curious look.

“Erm, we don’t know where it is, but what’s the problem?”

“Oh, a couple of boys look to be ready to get into a fight. Wait, I know you. You’re Harry Potter.” Harry slowly closed his book, looking like a soldier preparing for war as he did so. Draco kept the shirt hanging open as his best friend gave the intruder a cold look.

“Harry Lupin-Snape, thank you.” He had long since gotten over being polite to people who called him Harry Potter rather than his legal name. Precise and clear worked much better, especially as he grew and people started to take him seriously. Or as seriously as an eleven year old could be taken.

“Oh, so sorry. I’m Hermione Granger.” Draco fixed his cuffs and immediately shut himself out of the conversation. His mind had already whistled through the pureblood family names and unless she was somehow related to the Dagworths (that family had died out during the 1800s) she had no pureblood in her. “Anyway, thanks for telling me, I’ll just keep going, hopefully I’ll find someone before things get out of hand.” She waved as she left the compartment and Draco finished buttoning up his shirt before starting out of the compartment himself.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked, setting his book off to the side.

“Going to see who the idiots are who are getting in a fight this soon. If I’m lucky, they’ll be upperclassmen and I can keep my five Galleons from Uncle Sev.”

“Do I even want to know?” Harry asked as he pushed himself from his seat and followed Draco out of the compartment.

“Uncle Sev said that every beginning year there’s always one pair of people who get in a fight with each other before Halloween. I bet that it couldn’t be that soon and said that there wouldn’t be one until Christmas. I'm hoping I was right.” Draco explained as they went down the hallway of the train, following the steady trickle of people who were going towards whatever it was. The two of them finally found the half-circle of people and the two who were inside.

“Stop insulting my friends!” Draco and Harry looked to each other in shock before Draco began to push his way through the crowds and Harry crawled under legs until the two of them finally got to the front to see Neville Longbottom and Ronald Prewitt standing in the center, glaring at each other. “Just because you don’t like them because you’re a prat doesn’t mean I can’t like them.”

“They’re both Dark, Neville! They’ll join You-Know-Him the moment they can.” Ron said, waving his arms a bit for emphasis. His face was turning an unappealing shade of red.

“First of all, it’s You-Know-Who, if you’re going to use a euphemism then use it properly.” Harry said as he walked into the half circle. “Second of all, why would I join someone who killed my parents, you two faced idiot. Now, if you would be so kind as to be intelligent for more than two milliseconds, I am going to remind you of something else. Your mother tried to _poison me_. While I don’t hold that against you, I don’t particularly feel charitable to you, your mother, or Ginny. When you decide to get your head out of the sand, then we can talk. But until then, leave me, my friends, and my family out of it.” Harry then took Neville by his arm, Draco by the edge of his collar, and walked them off out of the circle that parted for them. Draco whined as he tried to get out of Harry’s grasp and Neville just let it happen, knowing that this was much better than fighting with Prewitt. He hoped that he wasn’t going to be fighting with Prewitt in the years to come. Harry was hoping the same thing.

When the boys got back to the compartment, Draco shrugged on his robes and Harry pulled down his trunk to get started on putting on his own robes. Neville went to the compartment he had been in originally, got his things, and came back with the black trunk and the small container where he kept his toad. The boys oohed and ahhed over the toad as Neville held it as carefully as he could, not wanting it to get out. “I’m not going to be that kid who loses his familiar every five minutes.” Neville vowed to his friends as he put Trevor back into the little cage.

“But then you will and we’ll all know that you’re back to normal.” Neville hit Draco over the back of the head with a roll of his eyes and a fond smile.

The treats that the boys had bought with their respective allowances were already settled nicely in their stomachs as they played game after game of Exploding Snap. They looked to be the epitome of incoming students. Harry had fought and failed with his hair, it exploding from his head. His glass eye stayed in the direction that he needed it to, the incidents of it swerving dying down as he got better with it. All three of them were in their robes, Draco’s nicely pressed, Neville’s equally nicely pressed, and Harry’s like they had been hit by a train then run over. Harry hadn’t worried about it though. Draco had Dobby to take care of his robes and Neville had his grandmother. While Remus was good at several things, ironing was not one of them.

The train screeched to a halt in Hogsmeade Station, a place where Harry and Charlotte had spent many of their adventures. Harry stepped off the train with a half-smile adorning his face, Draco and Neville on either side of him as they went to the sound of a booming voice that proclaimed, “ALL THE FIRS’ YEARS! O’ER HERE! ALL THE FIRS’ YEARS! LEAVE YER THINGS, THEY’LL BE TAKEN AFTER YA!”

The man who stood there was taller than two doorways, his hair long and shaggy with a beard that matched it. His dark beetle eyes reminded Harry of Severus, but much warmer and less likely to be cold. Draco seemed terrified and Neville was in awe. Harry pulled Draco forward with a reminder breathing across his ear, “You spend a lot of time around sentient magical creatures. Stop being such a narrow-minded prick.” Draco gave him a stony look as they joined the flocks of first year students. Neville clung to his cage for Trevor and Hydra gave a penitent hiss at the influx of noise against her fragile ears. Draco reached into his wicker cage and stroked her gently. She scratched him.

“Now, then, is that everyone? I am Rebeus Hagrid, Groundskeeper and Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts. If you will follow me we’ll get to the boats.”

“I thought we rode carriages.” Draco whispered in mild wonder.

“I guess that’s an upperclassmen thing.” Harry responded with a shrug. They went down the small path that led to the watery pathway which was lined with boats. Harry hadn’t wanted to leave Hedwig, especially in moments like these when he yearned for something to hold onto.

“Four to a boat, please! Four to a boat!” Hagrid’s voice boomed as the first years shuffled pets and small trinkets that they had managed to take aboard. Draco, Neville and Harry all sat in a boat with the girl who had warned them about the fight also taking a seat with them. The three of them shared a significant look, all grateful that Ron hadn’t decided to make trouble and sit with them. Once everyone was seated and Hagrid had taken a seat for himself, the large man tapped his umbrella against the side and commanded, “Onward!” The boats lurched as one and began to glide over the water.

Harry turned around in his seat so that he could get that first glimpse of the castle where he would be staying for the next seven years of his life. His Papa’s words echoed in his mind, intermingled with Severus’s softly spoken memories of his first time seeing the castle.

_“Of course, it was different for me with me being Hogwarts heir, but… gods, there was something so incredible about going under that bridge and then coming out from that tunnel and seeing this large majestic castle towering into the night sky. Beautiful golden lights lighting every window and sharp spires piercing the sky. Gods, it was amazing to behold.”_

And behold it Harry did. The first years all gasped when they went under the ivy curtain and on the other side, Hogwarts could be seen. A wind whisked around all of them as if Lady Hogwarts herself was welcoming them. And perhaps she was. Harry began to laugh, an unknown joy suddenly filling his heart. Draco and Neville joined in, amazement tinging their laughter as they tried to take in every inch of the castle that they could with their eyes.

When the boats stopped, everyone got out and still Harry tried to keep his eyes on the castle. It was exactly as Severus had described it, but it seemed so much more real to truly behold when you were directly in front of it. Harry walked with his mouth agape, Neville having to lead him since he clearly wasn’t watching where he was going. All of the other first years had the same problem he did, though Draco seemed to be trying to be above it all, even he failed.

They went into the Entrance Hall, a beautiful entry hall lined with suits of armour that actually moved and tall stone pillars with intricate runes etched into the tops and bottoms. The windows were tall Norse windows, the arches gleaming in the late summer’s night. They all came to a stop at the foot of the stairs when they saw a figure standing at the top.

Harry was finally broken out of his trance when he saw Minerva and a small smile adorned his face. She had truly put on her best robes for tonight, beautiful green silk that looked black in a certain light. Her face was stern as she looked over the new first years, but her eyes turned warm when they saw Harry grinning at her. She kept her face plain as she told them, “Welcome to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few moments, you will go into the Great Hall, be Sorted into your Houses, and begin the feast. The Houses that you can be Sorted into are Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff.”

“The reject house.” Draco muttered. Harry poked him hard in the ribs.

“These Houses will become your family and become a part of who you are. Please wait for a few moments and I will come retrieve you.” She swept out where she stood, but not before glancing over at Harry and giving him a quick wink. Harry’s giggling fit returned and Neville and Draco both had to push him up the stairs.

He didn’t hold the same fears as the other first years did. He heard Hermione muttering spells she knew and wondering if she needed them. Ron had turned a sickly shade of green and obviously had believed the twins whenever he had seen them. Some of the others were turning similar shades and others looked ready to cry from fear.

The doors opened dramatically and suddenly the Great Hall was before them. Four tables lined the massive hall, with one long one at the front. Harry glanced at the teachers, seeing that Miss McGonagall was standing with a long list beside the Sorting Hat. The hat itself seemed battered and old and generally not well cared for, but he didn’t worry too much. He saw many of his fellow classmates relax at the sight of the hat, obviously thinking that there was no way this could be dangerous. All of them fell into a line as they entered the Hall and stood in front of the hat.

Suddenly it ripped straight across the brim and began to sing,

_Oh you may not think me pretty,_  
But don't judge on what you see,   
I'll eat myself if you can find   
A smarter hat than me.   
You can keep your bowlers black,   
Your top hats sleek and tall,   
For I'm the  _Hogwarts_ _Sorting Hat_  
 _And I can cap them all._  
 _There's nothing hidden in your head_  
 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
 _So try me on and I will tell you_  
 _Where you ought to be._  
  
 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_  
 _Set Gryffindors apart;_  
 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
 _Where they are just and loyal,_  
 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
 _And unafraid of toil;_  
 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
 _if you've a ready mind,_  
 _Where those of wit and learning,_  
 _Will always find their kind;_  
 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
 _You'll make your real friends,_  
 _Those cunning folks use any means_  
 _To achieve their ends._  
  
 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
 _And don't get in a flap!_  
 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The students clapped politely at the end and “Abbott, Hannah” was called to the front. The girl slowly walked up, looking nervously around as she sat on the stool and pulled the hat over her head. It didn’t take long before the hat proclaimed, “HUFFLEPUFF!” and “Bones, Susan” went next.

Harry wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the other Sortings, though he did glance up for Hermione Granger who had taken a bit longer than the others but in the end was proclaimed, “GRYFFINDOR!” He picked at his nails, Draco pinched him on the bicep in a way to get him to stop, they moved forward, Harry retaliated. This kept going for a few moments before Neville pushed his way in between them without a word said.

“Longbottom, Neville.” Neville seemed breathless for a few moments before swallowing and slowly moving forward. Harry and Draco looked between them as they watched their best friend pull the hat over his ears with his eyes already closed. His lips barely moved and Harry couldn’t tell what he was saying. His over-aura matched many of the other first year’s in its bright yellow hue. Harry shuffled on his feet before the hat finally proclaimed, “HUFFLEPUFF!” Draco looked shocked, but when Neville looked to the door of them on the way to his seat, Harry gave him a thumbs up. This made Neville laugh and after Draco rolled his eyes, he sent a fond smile to the boy as well.

“Lupin-Snape, Harry.” A flurry of whispers erupted from the tables as Harry strode forward, confident, and put the hat over his head. It fell over his sharply pointed ears and he heard a raspy voice in his head,

“ _Ah, the great Harry Potter.”_

“Harry Lupin-Snape, thank you.” Harry muttered mutinously.

“ _Oh, I apologize. I don’t keep up with current affairs as well as I should. Now, on to your Sorting. A good mind, very good indeed, a great deal of talent and a need to discover everything that you could have in store. You take your destiny with both hands and don’t let anyone take that away, don’t you.”_ Harry nodded minutely. “ _Yes, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that your greatness would best be used in_ SLYTHERIN!” Harry hopped off the chair and shrugged before going to his new housemates, who seemed shocked for a few moments before erupting into cheers.

Harry sat down in his seat, shaking hands here and there with an easygoing smile on his face. “Welcome to Slytherin, Magnus Goyle, older brother to one of you younger ones and Head Boy.” A bulky boy with arms like tree trunks and a frame that matched it engulfed his hand in a handshake. “I had Snape as a Head before we got Kimlor. Is he still alright in the Corps?”

“Malfoy, Draco.” Harry leaned around Magnus to see his other best friend jump onto the seat. It barely touched his head before the hat proclaimed, “SLYTHERIN!” Harry could have sworn he heard a bit of condescension in that proclamation, as though he was implying “Why the hell wouldn’t he go to Slytherin?” Harry laughed at the thought and scooted over to make room for him. “Yeah, he goes on missions and my Papa takes care of him.” Magnus seemed content with that answer and went to his younger brother who was down the way.

A few more students went up and Harry wondered how long this would take, though he did tune in when Marcus Nott, the boy who had seen his father murder his mother go up. He was tall for an eleven year old and he seemed to have a frown etched into his face. He sat on the stool heavily and dropped the hat onto his head. It seemed to sit there for a few moments before deciding, “RAVENCLAW!” Nott seemed surprised and put down the hat before going over to the table. 

Finally, the last Sorting he was interested in went up, “Prewitt, Ronald.” Ron went up to the stool and nearly knocked it over in his haste to get to the hat. Harry fought down a laugh as Ron righted the chair and McGonagall forced him into the stool. He sat there for a few minutes, the Hat seemingly unable to decide before stating, “GRYFFINDOR!” The boy seemed content and went over to the table which was thankfully on the other side of the room.

When “Zabini, Blaise” had joined the Slytherin side of the room, Dumbledore stood up and the eagle that was on his podium raised its wings. Harry kept his mind blank as he watched Dumbledore speak, not really listening to what he was saying. This was the man who had thought it would be a good idea to leave him at the Dursleys and be tortured until he was of use again. This was the man who had used those who were supposed to protect him and put him back in that house from hell with implanted memories. Harry fumed and quickly turned around, unable to stand the sight of him. Once food appeared though, the happy-go-lucky Harry returned and he quickly dug into the food, fighting Draco for the drumstick and loading the mashed potatoes with gravy.

He blatantly ignored Dumbledore after the meal, still finishing off a treacle tart by licking off jam from his fingers and deciding it wasn’t as good as the ones his Papa made, and when Magnus stood and started directing the Slytherins down into the dungeons, he followed obediently.


	4. New Friends and Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco meet a couple new friends, Severus works with Punnett squares and Lucius is pretty much to blame for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, you know how I said there would be mentions of mpreg? Well here they are!

“Alright, first years, watch carefully. Especially you, Greg. I know how your mind works.” Magnus called, pointing at his brother in the small crowd of first years who were intermingled with other years also anxious to get into the common room. There didn’t seem to be many Slytherins outside though, which made Harry wonder where all of them had gone. The table had been filled with upperclassmen during the feast, but now it seemed like maybe a quarter of them were outside. Harry pushed his wondering aside as the stopped.

They stood in front of a door that made Harry think of the entrance to a potions laboratory. Tall shelves stood on either side and the frame was intricately done. Magnus stood in front of the crowd and stated, “Purity.” The door swung open and a long dark passageway awaited them. Harry and Draco wormed their way to the front of the line so that they could see everything. “The password changes every fortnight and they’ll be posted on the noticeboard inside. Along with that, the schedule for first year meetings will be posted there. You will meet with Kimlor and it’s based on last names as to when you will go and you will discuss… anything. It’s all confidential and you don’t have to tell her anything or you could have one of those tragically sad backstories that you really need to get out. Whichever one, you will go so I suggest you say something because sitting for a half hour in complete silence is very boring. All of us do this at some point and we upperclassmen still go in for our quarterly meetings, so don’t worry about it.” They entered the common room and the crowd of first years gasped at the sight.

The common room was filled to the brim with older students, all of them holding goblets of butterbeer and pumpkin juice. A long table went in front of the fireplace that had food taken from the kitchens. The windows above them were tinged green and the water above seemed to flicker in the dark lighting. The common room was lit with hand-blown glass lamps, giving an eerie glow over the scene. The other students laughed at the sight of the first years’ amazement and Magnus took a goblet from one of the other upperclassmen. Harry’s mouth hung slightly agape as he looked over all of the students.

“Excuse me, pardon me, move please, thank you.” The crowd of first years parted for Kimlor, who swept into the room in a flurry of black robes. She stood beside Magnus and nodded to him. He took a long drink from his goblet before stating, “Firsties, this is our Head of House, Professor Kimlor of Merrowmoor and Potions Master of Hogwarts. If for whatever reason you have a problem that you can’t solve, the prefects can’t solve, or I can’t solve, then you can go to her and she will figure it out.  So, before we start the other part of the evening, Kimlor is there anything you’d like to add?” Magnus questioned, looking to the fae.

She seemed to consider this for a few moments before stating, “No.” There was a few moments of silence before Magnus cleared his throat and kept going.

“Alright, let’s keeping going then! There are one hundred and seventy three first year Slytherins this year and there are one hundred and thirty nine third years, so… are there any fourth through seventh years who don’t have a brother or sister?” The third years were joined by a few fourth years and several fifth years. “Oh right, we were really short a couple of years ago.” All of the first years stayed in their huddle and the upperclassmen seemed to be sizing them up like cattle. Magnus looked to the upperclassmen and made a broad sweeping gesture towards the first years. “Go forth and make brothers and sisters.” Draco and Harry gave each other wondering looks as the third, fourth and fifth years went into the huddle and clapped their hands down on first years’ shoulders.

A girl with a crooked smile and a very short blonde pixie cut that had auburn, brown and red streaks came up to Draco and clapped him on the shoulder. “I call this one! Hi, I’m Cecilia, but everyone calls me Cec. I’m going to be your big Slytherin sister.”

“Wait, this is how they do it?” Draco asked as though his entire world had collapsed on itself. “And I’m Draco.”

“Pretty much.” She said, “Pleasure to meet you. I’m a third year this year…” With that, Draco was walked away from Harry in the midst of conversation with Cec. Harry chuckled and shuffled on his feet, pushing his glasses up his nose as it seemed more and more people were being chosen. He shoved his hands into his pockets and felt an all too familiar sense of dread fall over him as he became one of the last first years standing. Was there no one who wanted to be his Slytherin sibling?

A hand clapped down on his shoulder from behind and Harry quickly turned to see a boy with dangling black hair and a very pointy chin looking at him. “I call this one.” His voice was stoic and calm, very unlike Cecilia. “I am Vladimir, but everyone here calls me Vlad. I will be your big Slytherin brother.” Harry detected a light Russian accent and he smiled up at Vlad. He was very lanky and nearly a head taller than him. “I am fifth year this year and Prefect. Let us go talk where the food is.” He motioned towards the table where most of the Slytherins were now lingering, the first years looking up at their new Slytherin siblings with their eyes wide.

“So, do all of the Houses do this?” Harry asked as he spied a cauldron cake and quickly picked it up, biting off the cauldron’s chocolate legs.

“No, only Slytherin.”

“Why is ‘zat?” Harry asked around a bit of the velvety chocolate that was in his mouth.

“Slytherins need more protection than the other houses. From the moment they get called Slytherins they have immediately changed in eyes of students. They went from being possible friend to enemy number one. They are looked down on and must stay within their house to feel safe.” Vlad looked down at his pumpkin juice and his over aura turned black. It was a stark contrast to the others in the room who sported peridot and light green over-auras. Harry’s head tilted to the side when he realized that Vlad’s under aura was a very pink and indigo mix. “No more talk of sad things. Today is great day for Slytherin house.”

“Why is that?”

“We have you all.”

~

_Dear Papa and Mister Sev (I can’t think of a better title right now, so… sorry!),_

_Well, guess which house I got put in. Just guess. Have you finished guessing? And Mister Sev don’t be rude and not guess. It’s part of the fun. Are you finished guessing? Okay, here we go. I AM A SLYTHERIN!_ _I hope no one was betting that I was a Gryffindor (By the way Mister Sev, pass this on to Mister Lucius when you can, I want ten of those twenty Galleons that you got from Papa)._

 _Anyway, Draco and I are Slytherins and Neville’s a Puff, which I think is kind of cool. I’m not really upset about it, but Draco seems to think that it makes Neville a reject. I hit him with my pillow enough times that I ripped it. There were feathers_ everywhere. _Then I got one of the upperclassmen to fix it and I kept hitting him with it until he took it back. I don’t think the Hufflepuffs are useless, Uncle Rom was a Puff._

_My Slytherin brother’s name is Vlad and he’s pretty cool. I found it funny that he’s all serious and calm but his under aura’s all happy and peppy. It makes me laugh more times than it should. I’m sure Draco’s going to tell you guys about this, but his Slytherin sister’s name is Cec and she is the exact opposite of Vlad. She’s all sunshine and rainbows and I think it drives Draco nuts. That’ll be an interesting friendship._

_Why do not all of the Houses do the big-brother-little-sister thing like Slytherins? I asked Vlad and he said that we need more help than anyone else. Which I guess I can kind of see, but it didn’t quite make sense. Oh, Kimlor is still doing the quarterly meetings like you used to do Mister Sev. I know you wanted me to find that out._

_The grounds are beautiful, I can’t wait to explore them. It’s late though and I need to go to bed. I think I could get used to sleeping here and yes, I brought Buns. I’m not stupid. The only problem is that Greg Goyle snores louder than a train. I really hope we learn Silencio soon._

_Love you guys,_

_Harry Lupin-Snape (You wouldn’t believe what trouble I got with people wanting to call me Harry Potter! I’ll tell you about it later)_

Remus huffed slightly as he read his son’s messy scrawl with a fond smile upon his face. He laid in bed with the letter and a book he was reading propped up by his knees, the other side occupied by his husband who was busy at work with revisions to a potion’s recipe. He put down the letter and picked up his book again, enjoying the silence that was mixed in with the sound of the quill against parchment and the crickets outside.

After a bit of time, Severus removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “I hate Punnett squares.” Remus looked at his husband in confusion and glanced to look at the parchment that Severus had before been writing on. It was filled to the brim with the squares, letters and numbers filling them and written on the sides.

“…why?” Severus blinked a few times to help sooth his eyes before he looked to Remus.

“I was trying to see if there was a way to isolate certain genes in the pregnancy potions I’ve been working on lately.” He explained, bringing a hand that was still stained from potions and ink to rub at his eyes again. Remus gave him a curious look.

“Severus, the only pregnancy potions you’ve been working on lately have been the male pregnancy ones.” Severus kept giving him with a shrewd look until comprehension dawned on him, “You’ve been trying to see if you can isolate the werewolf gene.” Severus nodded once before putting aside the clipboard with the parchment and the quill before turning onto his side and snuffing his light. Remus stared at his husband in shock before setting aside his book and Harry’s letter and snuffing his own light. He wrapped himself around his husband’s back and he asked, “Why?”

“It’s Lucius’s fault.” There were a few moments of silence that ticked by before Severus elaborated, “When Draco was born and I was appointed godfather, I thought it wouldn’t be that big a deal. I’d see him at family functions, maybe babysit every once in a while, but otherwise I would just be one of those figures in his life that you would classify with your great aunt or that stuffy neighbor who smelled like cats. But… I babysat Draco one night right after the war had ended. I think Lucius and Narcissa had some social function they had to go to and I was the first one they called.

“Draco couldn’t have been more than a few months over one and he had just gotten into that age that everyone likes. He was getting out of nappies and he was old enough that you could play with him. He was obsessed with dragons at the time and he had this black stuffed dragon that he carried around everywhere. I had thought this would be a good time to work on some papers, but he insisted that I play dragons with him. Which essentially entailed him hitting me over the head with the stuffed toy until he got bored. And oddly enough… I wasn’t that perturbed by it. I actually found it amusing that this little boy enjoyed this toy so much. It was endearing almost when I put him to bed and he gave me this sleepy smile and…

“I don’t know, Remus, maybe I’m being ridiculous. Actually, there’s no maybe in that. I am being ridiculous. I’d make a terrible father… mother.” Remus hugged Severus from behind tighter so that he was forced to be with his back against his chest. The werewolf nuzzled his nose into the Auror’s neck and moved so that both of his legs wrapped around one of Severus’s.

“You know, some of the old Slytherins who you had before you left come in and they ask about you. They ask how you’re doing in the Corps, if I’m treating you alright, one of them who seemed a bit older than the others actually raised her wand at me and told me that if I didn’t treat you, and I quote ‘like the fucking king of the world’ she would do some very unfortunate things to my genitalia.”

“That would have been Eloise. She was my younger Slytherin sister. Last I saw her she had gone to Australia. We’re on a regular letters and meetings basis.” Severus said as he relaxed against Remus’s frame.

“Why do you always get the ones who look like they wouldn’t pass on the idea of killing me the second they were able?”

“I don’t know, part of my charm.” Severus sneered.

“Anyway, you changed a lot of those students’ lives, Severus. I think you would make an amazing father if given the chance.” Remus told him. “Mother.” Severus gave a noncommittal noise and moved so that they were as close as possible. Remus had to squirm a bit so that his chin still rested on his husband’s broad shoulder and his breath relaxed.

“I would do anything for you.” He told him in the dark of the night, the waning crescent gleaming through the window and casting its shadows over them.

“As I would for you.” 


	5. Interlude: Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters are written amongst the families of our favourite Slytherins and a special request is put in for a book that is needed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More mentions of mpreg planning!

_September 3 rd, 1991_

_Dear Harry,_

_Thank you so much for the lovely letter first of all. I actually did get Severus to play along, though he would like to remind you that capital letters are much easier to read from afar. Also, both he and Lucius refuse. How did you know it was twenty? I only bet ten (I probably should have counted twice though in retrospect) once in your presence and that was only because Lucius was being ridiculous. Severus says that he doesn’t mind if you can’t think of a title for him, the one you have for him right now is perfect._

_I’m very proud of you for the house you are in and for standing up for your friends. That is one of the things that I must admit even I fell victim to; especially the idea that all Slytherins were evil and Hufflepuffs weren’t all that they could be. Severus is giving me an extremely dirty look._

_I must admit, I don’t know why none of the other houses don’t have the big-brother-little-sister tradition like the Slytherins do, but I think Vlad hit it on the head. Several Slytherins, at least during my experience, were very badly misjudged and others thought that they deserved to be lynched on the spot. Severus is still glaring at me. Oh, and he’s glad that she is still doing the meetings. Yet another thing that it seems none of the other houses do. The only time I recall going to see McGonagall was for my OWL and NEWT classes evaluation (or for if I had gotten in trouble for a prank)._

_Please remember that while you are at school, that should be your number one commitment. That is why they don’t let first years play. Yes, I heard you and Draco complaining about that before you left. During that first year, you’re still learning which way the sky is._

_Write more soon,_

_We love you,_

_Papa and Mister Sev_

_September 8 th, 1991_

_Dear Papa and Mister Sev,_

_This Defense teacher is a joke. I guess I’m so used to having Kaeasa teach me, but this guy couldn’t get a single sentence out without stuttering and he didn’t even get to actual techniques or demonstrations or anything. It’s already hard enough for Vincent and Greg to keep their minds on the lesson, this is just making it so much harder. His name is Quirinus Quirrel, maybe Mister Sev could do some research on him? I don’t know._

_Other than that, things are going pretty well here. Theodore Nott, that guy who saw his dad kill his mum, is actually really cool. I found an alcove where I wanted to start studying and he was already there but we decided it was big enough for the two of us. He’s really smart and has this sort of sarcastic sense of humour that kind of reminds me of Severus. Also, he’s really good at Potions, just like me, so we had something to talk about._

_Speaking of Kaeasa, she and I are still doing my lessons. Papa, you’ve met her. She’s shorter than me and she’s a dark elf so her eyes are completely black and she can make it seem like you’re walking around in the middle of the night instantly even though it’s the middle of the day. She’s actually done that to me too, made my surroundings pitch black then expected me to figure out how to make a plant that needs sunlight to grow. If this is easy I’m worried about how it’ll be when I’m older._

_Anydith sometimes comes along and helps me, or Kaeasa depending on the day. She’s a light elf, so she can make a small tunnel of light for me to be able to see outside but doesn’t affect the plant. It makes me feel a bit better because I’m not sure if Kaeasa realizes that I don’t really like the dark. She also gives me my elvin history lessons and there is so much to know. It’s amazing how long the elves and faes have really been here._

_Well, History of Magic is over and I’ve got to get to Potions. I’ll write soon._

_Love you guys,_

_Harry Lupin-Snape_

_September 15 th, 1991_

_Dear Father,_

_As my last letter told you, the Potions Master who is now teaching is beyond expectations. She has a way that makes it so easy to understand and I find it funny that she refuses to let anyone boast about their ability. I probably already told you about the muggleborn who seems to think she knows it all because she read it in a book and on that first lesson, Professor Kimlor asked us some questions from the potions book and the muggleborn (Granger) just couldn’t get her hand up fast enough. Harry got his hand up too, but Kimlor didn’t want to show preference so she went with Granger. And Granger got it wrong_. _Yeah, she got it wrong and Kimlor looked to Harry to give the right answer. He did of course, he’s been learning under one of the youngest Potion Masters of our time, and Granger’s face could not have been more hilarious. She had obviously underestimated Harry. Kimlor gave Slytherin five points for the correct answer and Prewitt began to complain._

_He said that she was showing favoritism and she reminded him that since Granger didn’t give the right answer, she had to go to the other student who wanted to answer. The logic made him splutter and obviously think harder than he has in years. Gods, if he had half as many brain cells as he does Knuts then he’d get somewhere. That’s probably asking too much though. Kimlor went on with the lesson after that and after that Granger got her act together and answered a few questions. Harry got to answer a couple too and by the end of the day we had gotten twenty points and Gryffindor got twenty._

_Afterwards I wanted to ask Kimlor when I needed to get back to training so I went back to the classroom and I saw her and Hen talking by her desk. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Kimlor was playing with her papers and Hen was rubbing at the back of his neck like Harry sometimes does. Hen said something else and both of them laughed a bit._

_I figured I’d ask them later. How has Callie been without her ‘Brovur Dako’ around?_

_Love you,_

_Draco Malfoy_

_September 19 th, 1991_

_Dear Son,_

_I am very glad to hear that the Potions Master is doing an excellent job when it comes to teaching you. I would expect no less when it comes to that institution._

_Callisto has been taking oddly well to you not being at the Manor, though I don’t think she quite understands that she won’t see you until Christmas. I’ll keep you updated as that goes on. I am sorry if I’m not writing as much as I normally do, son, but I’m distracted right now with the legislation that I’m trying to put through. I will write more when I have the chance._

_Keep your grades up and I will see you at Christmas._

_I love you too,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

_Date: September 27 th, 1991_

_Customer: Severus Tobias Lupin-Snape_

_Book Requested: What to Expect when Your Partner is Expecting: An Intensive Guide to the Male Pregnancy Journey by Uzziel Schnoor_

_Special Requests (gift-wrapped, charms obscuring title, etc.): Minor charm to reflect different title- A Potion Master’s Guide to Albanian Plants by Gjon Dibra_

_Please return form to front desk when finished and thank you for your patronage._

_Flourish and Blotts_

_Store Use Only:_

_Date Book Received: September 30 th, 1991_

_Special Request Completed: September 30 th, 1991_

_Date Book Collected: October 1 st, 1991_


	6. Studying and Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Was it so bad that a bunch of eleven year olds just wanted to study?" Draco, Neville, and Harry make new friends, form an independent study group, and Harry isn't taking your crap today.

_October 3 rd, 1991_

Draco, Harry and Neville were making several friends over the course of their short time at Hogwarts. Draco and Pansy seemed to be friends again, which was odd because they had been on and off since they were six and the tea accident. She had seemed to grow a bit, but she still held a hatred towards Harry. Or so it seemed.

Magnus’s younger brother and another boy by the name of Vincent Crabbe had joined their group, and they were decent company even if they got bored easily and didn’t hold very intelligent conversations. They were rather funny to be around though since they told good jokes, so none of them really minded.

Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini also joined their motley crew, the group now expanding to accommodate nearly all of the houses except for Gryffindor. Fred and George tagged along when they weren’t getting in detention (yes, they had already gotten detention. Apparently they were trying to beat a record set in the seventies for the earliest a student had ever gotten a detention) and they sometimes practiced pranks for the group’s amusement.

Harry nearly wanted to find a first-year Gryffindor to complete the inter-house group, as a sort of punch in the face for Dumbledore’s thought that houses could not get along, but the Gryffindors would clearly not come anywhere near them. Harry had no doubt that Prewitt had spread rumours like wild fire through the house and made them all think that he was the next Dark Lord. At eleven. Harry found it ridiculous and Fred and George just liked teasing him relentlessly about it considering they heard all of the rumours too and dispelled them. Or added fuel to the fire. It just depended on the day when it came to them.

That particular day all of the first years were sitting out on the grounds, wrapped up in their coats and scarves as the cool of autumn made its way over them. Harry laid himself in Draco’s lap, his head cushioned by his best friend’s thighs as he held his Potions book high above his head and Draco reading through his own with the book propped on Harry’s bicep. Neville rested his legs on Harry’s; straight across to his horizontal, his Herbology book open and a quill poised to write notes, Pansy rested the back of her head on Draco’s shoulder with the latest issue of Witch Weekly sitting on her knees, Blaise with his head in Pansy’s lap as he looked over his Charms text, and Theodore lying stomach-down on Blaise’s legs with his Defense book open and framed by his elbows. Vincent and Greg laid like two guard dogs in front of the group facing each other, their Transfiguration books lying open as they slowly worked their way through the text. Both of them had learning disabilities and it took them much longer to read. Greg’s mouth slowly moved and he blinked several times in frustration, his teeth grinding together in his anger at himself. Vibrant blocks of colour suddenly appeared over words seemingly at random and Vincent closed his eyes hard. _They aren’t there, you idiot! Just read like a normal person!_

Harry turned onto his stomach and rested his cheek against Draco’s knee as he continued reading. Neville lifted his legs wordlessly and Harry’s legs fell flat and Neville propped his feet on the black haired boy’s calves. Draco moved his book so that it now rested on the thigh that Harry did not lay on, the other hand straying to the full curls that abounded from Harry’s head at their own accord and gently moving through it. These sorts of silent affirmations of friendship, especially between him and Draco, were something that he truly enjoyed. Harry practically purred, though he didn’t realize that he did. Pansy sent him a small glare, though the smile on Draco’s face at the sound made her stop short. She turned her attention back to Witch Weekly.

Harry’s hand that didn’t keep his book open began to tap in a seemingly meaningless fashion, all five of his fingers moving in what seemed to be a random order. Neville caught the movement and knew that if that hand was on a piano, it would be making music. When they went into Year 3, they were told that they would be taking up some form of art to study along with their regular studies. The next day, instrument teachers, art instructors, even chefs came and showed off their art forms for the students and their parents to peruse. Lucius had clearly wanted Draco to take a musical interest like his mother had, but his attention was irrevocably taken by the art instructor who was showing another student how to draw with coal. He had shoved his way to the front and watched with rapt attention as the coal created the first student’s exact likeness. Draco looked to his father and pointed at the paper wordlessly, making his choice.

In the same way, Harry and Neville had found their art forms in music. Harry had moved like a man possessed to the piano that was being played, watching with his mouth slightly agape as the piano instructor played a beautiful melody. He watched through the end and Remus chuckled as the boy sent him the most pitiful pout to ever grace his face. Neville hadn’t even moved from the violin instructor through two more songs before his grandmother had found him and was asking about violin brands and which would be best for young hands.

 Neville chuckled and went back to his book, shifting a bit as his toe accidentally nudged Greg’s thigh and it caused the other boy’s attention to snap to the Hufflepuff. He sent a small smile to Neville before going back to reading, knowing that if he didn’t he would never get back to it.

The sight of someone coming towards them made Vincent’s attention move away from his studies and the realization of who it was made him immediately scowl. Hermione Granger was the type of person who Vincent hated. She couldn’t seem to understand that shoving information down someone’s throat, especially for those who don’t organize information like what was expected, was not a way to make friends. She practically affirmed everything his mother had ever told him about his worth, or lack thereof. Any time it took Vincent more than a few seconds to figure out the answer he caught the look of annoyance mixed with disgust that had been a major part of his childhood go across her face. Vincent pushed at Draco’s foot and this caused the faerie to snap his attention up. His face also curled into a snarl and all of the others in the group turned to look at her.

“Hello.” She said as she looked at all of them, clearly feeling as though she had walked into a lion’s den with a necklace of sausages around her neck. “I was wondering if I could join your study group. No one else seems to be having one quite as… organized as you all.” She told them, shifting the bag she wore so that it rested on her hip. Harry exchanged glances amongst the group, most of them begging him silently to see reason and Blaise going so far as to make slashing motions with his hand against his throat. He turned back so that he was on his back, sitting up with Neville moving again. He put his hands into his lap and told her,

“We’re an independent study group, we don’t like people who will treat the others in the group like crap for not being able to catch onto something as easily as they can. If you have an issue and you see someone else is studying it, you can ask them, but you will not offer the information if it is not asked for. Also, we don’t need the whole history of Persia, so if you are asked a question, you will need to keep the answers to actually pertain to the question. If you do anything I just said as a no-no, you will be kicked out faster than you can say ‘Oh’. Does that sound alright by you?” She seemed to think about this for a few moments and her eyes landed on Vincent’s. They very clearly said, “Do as the boy says. Or else.” She slowly backed away and went back towards the castle.

All of the group burst into laughter, some of them patting Harry on the back and Theodore slapping him on the back a few times. “Of course she couldn’t! She’s so much of a smart-aleck she wouldn’t be able to resist shoving all of her textbook learned information down our throats!” Blaise exclaimed.

“Exactly.” Harry said with a self-satisfied smile, settling back against Draco’s legs and looking to Draco to continue running his hand through his hair. The blonde chuckled and settled his book against Harry’s bicep as Harry rested his own book against his raised thighs and the group fell back into studying.

A few more minutes went by when a prefect, Ravenclaw by the badge, came up to them. “Harry Lupin-Snape?” Harry looked up and Theodore rolled his eyes in annoyance at all of the interruptions. Was it bad that a bunch of eleven year olds actually wanted to study?

“Yes?”

“Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you.” She told him kindly, giving a small smile. Harry actually seemed to think this over before stating,

“Alright, I’ll go get my legal guardians and I’ll meet you there.” He gave a thin smile before getting up from the group and leaving his book on Draco’s legs. “Take that back to the dorm would you?”

“What do I look like? Your chambermaid?” Harry decided not to answer, though he was suddenly given the thought of Draco in a long flowing dress and the thought made him chuckle softly as he went down the pathway towards Hogsmeade. He had been given special permission by Professor McGonagall to go to Hogsmeade since he did have family working there.

His robes flared behind him slightly as he entered the village and he waved to some of the shophands whom he recognized. They smiled warmly at him and waved back, some shouting greetings to him. Harry went into Good Cuppa and saw that it was one of the slow periods where it seemed that no one would ever come in. Marlena was leaning against the bar, her long black hair brushed back over her shoulders and the crossword puzzle book that she worked on during such times was put against the surface. She looked up at the cheerful ring of the bell at the door and smiled at the sight of the boy there.

“Hello Harry, how are you doing?”

“Fine, Miss Marlena. Is my Papa here?”

“Yes, he had to get some new things from the back and I think he’s just waiting for more customers to come in. Severus is here too.”

“Oh great, I needed to get them to go to Hogwarts with me. Dumbledore wanted to meet with me.” Harry said, bypassing the bar and walking into the back room. Marlena looked to him in confusion, but otherwise said nothing.

Remus was leaning against the oak table, lazily flicking a page in a book that laid flat on the surface. Severus stood beside him, his Auror robes open on his shoulders and a large stack of papers in front of him with a quill poised in hand.

“Hey Papa, hey Mister Sev.”

“Hello Harry.” The two of them said together, Remus turning his attention to his son with a half-smile upon his face as he dog-eared the page he was on. “What brings you here?” Severus asked as he put the quill away and Shrunk the papers so that he could fit them into his robes.

“Dumbledore wants to see me. I didn’t think it’d be smart to go alone.” He explained, shrugging. Severus gave a half smirk.

“Good boy.”


	7. Memories and Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus and Remus's appearance at the school causes a few memories to surface, the Lupin-Snape family has their meeting with the Headmaster, and Remus eats a lemon drop.

The Lupin-Snape family was the source of much speculation in the wizarding world. Some conservatives proclaimed that the Saviour of the Wizarding World didn’t need to have such influences over him that could change his place later in life. They said that the Saviour not having a mother figure could turn him into a cold-blooded killer, someone who was never taught the compassion that only a mother can teach. (Harry reminded them that he learned plenty of compassion and not just a girl had to teach it to him.) Others said that Harry would be bullied. (Severus reminded them that bullying can happen to anyone and if those children had not learned that bullying someone for their home life was wrong, it was not Harry’s fault, but their parents for not teaching such a basic lesson.) Some went so far to say that it would turn Harry gay himself because he was being raised by two openly gay men (Remus reminded them that sexual orientation had nothing to do with people’s parents and if that was true, why didn’t all straight couples have straight children?).

So, either way, the speculation and controversy over the Lupin-Snape family would have caused great strains on the family if not for one very important thing. Both Slytherins and Gryffindors had unfailing loyalty. While Slytherins didn’t show it quite as often as Gryffindors, once you had the loyalty of a Snake, you were certain to never lose it. And Severus Snape was no exception. Harry had earned his loyalty effortlessly through his parallel situation before he was adopted by Remus. Lucius because he was his Slytherin brother and taught him so many wonderful things about magic. Remus… he had to work for it, but once he had earned the trust that was so often out of reach when it came to the Auror, the loyalty followed suit.

When Harry came striding back up the path from Hogsmeade with Auror Lupin-Snape and Good Cuppa Owner Remus Lupin-Snape, people’s heads turned. Whispers followed the family as they went up to the entry hall and started on their way to the Headmaster’s office.

“It’s Severus!-“

“Wonder what’s happening-“

“Wouldn’t mind being a fly on _that_ wall-“

“Do you think Lupin is treating him alright?-“

“It’s Lupin-Snape, idiot, and of course, Severus wouldn’t stand for anything less-“

“Professor!” Magnus pushed his way past the small crowd and though Severus hadn’t answered to that title in over four years, his head still turned. The seventh year looked like an overly exuberant child as he grinned at the Auror and Severus gave a small smile back.

“Magnus, how have things been?” He asked one of his old Snakes, mentally praising the boy at the sight of the silver Head Boy badge that gleamed against his robes.

“Wonderful, sir. Head Boy, Quidditch team hasn’t been defeated for over five years, McGonagall’s ready to blow fire honestly over that, and I’ve already gotten offers to join the Unspeakables program.”

“I’m incredibly proud of you, Magnus.” Severus told him, clapping a hand on the boy’s shoulder. You would have thought someone had handed Magnus golden bricks at that comment, his bright eyes lighting up and his back straightening. He tilted his chin up in pride and Severus was suddenly given the image of the little eleven year old boy who came into his office for his first meeting, his eyes downcast as he sat in one of the chairs and explained in a quiet voice that his family life wasn’t the best. His mother was the tyrant of the family, continually hurling insult after insult against him and his little brother, who seemed to have dyslexia and couldn’t read as well as others. His father either didn’t know and couldn’t help or knew and didn’t care. The boy’s voice became louder as he said that he tried to teach his brother how to read, but his mother had banned him from the lessons and he could hear his mother verbally abuse Greg but couldn’t do anything about it. He was screaming that it just wasn’t fair and he just wanted to help him but couldn’t!

Oh, how things had changed since then. With his Slytherin sister’s kind guidance and Head’s careful advice, Magnus had excelled and had far exceeding any of the low expectations his mother had ever set for him. Severus truly could not have been prouder of any of his Snakes when they came back to him and told him of the way their lives had changed for the better. Magnus moved under Severus’s hand and quickly wrapped his tree-trunk like arms around the man’s stomach. Severus froze and Harry rolled his eyes as Severus recovered and patted the boy on the back. The seventeen year old backed away, clearly embarrassed at his emotional reaction and shifted on his feet. “Sorry, sir.”

“It’s fine.” Severus said as he patted down his Auror robes. “I need to go see what my son has done, so I will see you at the Ministry, Unspeakable Goyle.”

“I’ll meet you there, Auror Lupin-Snape.” Magnus said, snapping his feet together and straightening his shoulders. Severus nodded and quickly strode away with his family in tow. Remus smiled widely at him and couldn’t have looked more proud of his husband. Harry pushed his hands into his pockets as they began to walk away from the group before Severus remembered something.

“Magnus!” Severus called, turning back around.

“Yes, sir?” asked Magnus.

“What is the Headmaster’s password?”

“Jellybeans.” Magnus and Harry said together. Severus looked down to his adopted son with a confused look.

“I know a guy.” Harry said cryptically, shrugging as he went down the hallway. Remus sighed and simply looped his arm around Severus’s to pull him along with a half-smile adorning his face.

Once they arrived at the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster’s office, Severus felt a heavy weight suddenly fall onto his head and he quickly pulled the crown of the Hogwarts Heir off his head. “Lady Hogwarts, this isn’t funny.” Severus said as he turned to look at the figure leaning against the suit of armour with a smile adorning her face.

“I’m amused, why isn’t it funny?” She questioned blithely. Remus looked at her in shock, amazed that he could see her and that she truly looked like Severus had described. A full figure, long flowing robes, the crown and the belt of Hogwarts colours. He rubbed at his eyes and Harry smiled at her.

“Hello, Lady Hogwarts.” He said, nodding. “Why did you make me so giggly when I got here? All of my mates thought I was mad!” He complained, holding his arms out in wonder.

“As son of the Hogwarts Heir, you most likely felt what Severus did when he came here that first time.” Severus hummed but otherwise said nothing, his mind quickly delving into that memory.

_It was a beautiful night and Severus’s eyes were wide as they went beneath the ivy curtain and could see Hogwarts. The lights seemed to flare brightly and a strong wind suddenly whipped through the boats, wrapping around Severus in particular and making his robes flutter as the wind went through the Forbidden Forest and a sudden sense of being home filled him. A small smile adorned his face as laughter bubbled up within him and as valiantly as he tried to fight it off, it kept coming until Lily was shoving her hand over his mouth with her own smile upon her face. “Severus, shut up!”_

“We must have this meeting with the Headmaster now, so…” Severus turned on his heel and was about to say the password when Lady Hogwarts added,

“You will succeed, Severus. I know it.” Severus let a small smile come to his face before he stated, “Jelly beans.” The gargoyle moved aside and Severus handed the crown back to Lady Hogwarts, Harry jumping onto the rotating stairwell, Remus quickly walking on, and Severus striding onto it as the gargoyle began to slide back into place.

At the door, Harry put a hand out to stop Remus and Severus and knocked, smirking, “Headmaster?” He asked innocently.

“Harry, my boy, come in!” With a smirk still firmly planted on his face, he pushed open the door and Remus and Severus strode in behind him. The Headmaster’s face fell from welcoming to shock in a matter of seconds. “Oh, Remus, Severus, I wasn’t… expecting you.” He said, looking at the one chair that was in front of his desk. With a lazy flick of his wand, Severus created another of the same chair and set it beside the first. Remus sat down, Harry in the other, and Severus found a seat on the arm of Harry’s chair. He played with the jasper gemstone that was set on a leather band around his wrist, the Auror programs way of signaling for backup. When he was needed, Severus’s gemstone would flare and heat against his skin until he walked into the Ministry.

“What is this meeting about, Headmaster?” Remus asked respectively, schooling his features to be kind and open even though on the inside he was fuming at having this man in his presence. “I left Marlena with the shop but I don’t want to leave her there long alone.” He explained with an apologetic smile. Severus saw through the deception easily and had to fix his own features so that they did not reflect the proud smirk that wanted to adorn his face.

“Well, I just wanted to meet with Harry and ask him about his classes, how he is adjusting to being in Slytherin, I’m sure you’re very proud Severus.” Dumbledore said, nodding to Severus.

“I would have been proud of him regardless of house.” Severus stated, “But him being in Slytherin does add to that pride.” He relented after an obvious moment of thought. Harry smiled and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Lemon drop?” Dumbledore asked, taking his crystal dish and holding it out. Harry coughed a few times and Severus respectfully declined. Remus however took one of them and the emerald pendant that sat against his chest heated as he popped it into his mouth. He swallowed and the Compelling Charm that was supposed to overtake him was quickly absorbed by the quartz in the pendant.

“Very good.” Remus said with a half shrug. “Though a very odd aftertaste. Perhaps they are expired, Headmaster.” He told the older man with his eyes wide with innocence. Severus was biting his tongue to keep from smirking. Dumbledore hummed and took the crystal dish back, setting it down on the corner of his desk.

“Perhaps they are. I have the package here somewhere but I couldn’t say where.” said Dumbledore, waving around the room and nearly hitting Lady Hogwarts where she suddenly appeared. Severus’s eyes blew wide and Harry gasped as his hand went straight through her head. She looked at the Headmaster in anger but otherwise said nothing as his hand went through her chest and rested in his lap. Both Slytherins made sure to make their faces impassive by the time Dumbledore looked back at them.

“Well, my classes are going very well, I like to think I’m adjusting very well to Slytherin, and I’m making several different types of friends. Was there anything else you wanted to ask, Headmaster?” The man’s title rolled off of Harry’s tongue like poison, though his face was still innocent. Dumbledore seemed to think this over before glancing at the two other adults in the room and shaking his head.

“I can’t think of anything else, my boy.” The bell rang above their heads and Harry quickly stood.

“I’ve got to get to Transfiguration, it was a pleasure seeing you Papa, Mister Sev, Headmaster.” He said, quickly wrapping his arms around Remus’s neck and hugging him before moving to do the same to Severus. He then went to the door and gave a half wave over his shoulder to Dumbledore as he left. Severus turned his attention back to Dumbledore and gave his statement,

“Headmaster, I would like to remind you that under the Hogwarts Constitution Article 4, Subsection B, Line Q229, you as the stand-in for the Hogwarts Heir are not allowed to have private meetings with students unless their parents and/or legal guardians are present. You are lucky that Remus and I work in the area, but if you would like to have one of your little fire-side chats with our son again, you will send us formal notice and we will either accept or deny that as is our right under Line R214 of the same Article and Subsection. As far as I’m concerned, there is no ‘Saviour of the Wizarding World’ clause.” With that, Severus stood, turned on his heel and began to stride out of the room. He stopped at the doorway and looked to Remus.

Remus smiled at him and his shoulders, which had been tense up to that point, relaxed as he got up and nodded to Dumbledore. “Goodbye, Headmaster.” He went to Severus and closed the door behind them. 


	8. Quidditch and Appointments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry cause hellfire to break loose through the Gryffindor table, they do the basics of flying, and Severus has an appointment

_October 16 th, 1991_

“Hey guys, look what my Grandma sent me.” Neville said as he walked across the Great Hall and showed his two favourite Slytherins the Remembrall that had a slightly pink smoke within.

“Oh good, maybe your memory will improve a bit.” Draco said as he got another piece of bacon and began to take small bites.

“Hey! It’s not… alright yeah it is.” Neville relented as he sat between Draco and Harry and played with the glass globe. It began to fill with red smoke and he frowned at it, “Alright, I don’t even know what I forgot.”

“Erm…” Harry swallowed his forkful of eggs and tried to think of what his friend could have forgotten. “Transfiguration homework?”

“No, I did that last night.” Neville said in confusion.

“The five Galleons you owe me?” Draco asked.

“I don’t owe you five Galleons you prat.”

“It was worth a shot.” Draco said unapologetically. Harry reached around Neville and smacked the blond on the back of his head.

“Potions homework?”

“I didn’t forget about it and it isn’t due until tomorrow.”

“Some odd Hufflepuff tradition?”

“No, we did that a few weeks ago.”

“Wait, so there are odd Hufflepuff traditions?”

“No more odd than your Slytherin traditions!”

“Touché.”

“Guys, stop bickering. We need to figure this out.” Harry snapped, taking a piece of ham and biting onto it.

“Alright, alright, erm…”

“Quidditch lessons today.” A passing first year said. All three of them groaned with the realization.

“We have to try and fly with Gryffindors around?” Draco complained.

“You’re lucky, Nev, you just have to work with Ravenclaws. They’ll all explode when they realize they can’t use book smarts for that.”

“No, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws hate each other! I don’t quite know why, but we do.” The Hufflepuff told them with his eyes wide.

“Just like Slytherins don’t like when other houses walk on their side. What are you doing here, Puff?” The three first years turned to look at Magnus, who had his arms loosely crossed with a sneer upon his face at the sight of Neville sitting at the Slytherin table.

“Talking to my friends. Why? Is that a problem?” Neville asked, giving an inquiring look to the Head Boy.

“It… well…” Magnus seemed at a loss as to why that would in fact be a problem. “Hmm. You know, when you put it like that it seems a bit silly to make you leave. Carry on.” He shook his head and went down the table to sit with the other Slytherin prefects. The Slytherins and a few of the Ravenclaws who were around the group when this exchange occurred began to mutter amongst themselves in wonder. Why was it such a big deal when other people from other houses sat at different tables? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to sit with other houses that they had classes with so that they could exchange ideas? The questions were caught by some of the Hufflepuffs which spread through that table which were caught by the twins which caused hellfire to break loose through the Gryffindors.

The staff table watched in mild confusion as all of the students seemed to be on the same subject. They hadn’t a clue what could have caught the students’ attention that wasn’t Quidditch. None of them saw Lady Hogwarts beaming brightly from behind Dumbledore’s chair, leaning against the back with her arms supporting her weight.

Once breakfast had ended, all of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years clamoured out into the courtyard, Draco and Harry leading the way with their faces bright with excitement. Both of them had been on Madam Maitre’s Quidditch team since Year 3, Harry as a surprisingly good Chaser and Draco as the Seeker. Both of them had loved flying, especially with each other. Their team had been one of the best in the Junior Quidditch League with both of them there, Harry taking leads off of Draco as to whether he would catch the Snitch any time soon and Draco taking cues off of Harry when he realized that they were losing that he needed to hurry up and find the Snitch.

The two houses stood on opposite sides of each other, the school brooms laid out beside them. The Gryffindors were still in midst of conversation from lunch, though Prewitt looked decidedly indecisive about it all. “Looks like he’s constipated.” Draco muttered to Harry, smirking. Harry bit back a laugh and nodded in agreement as the flying instructor came out. The students fell silent as the golden-eyed woman walked in between the two lines and stood at the other side. Her stout figure was still as she let her eyes graze over the group, finally ending back in the middle once she had peered at all of them in turn. “Welcome to your first flying lesson. I am Madam Hooch, I am the regular referee for Quidditch games at Hogwarts and your flying instructor. Now, stand on the left side of the broom in front of you, hold your hand out, and say very clearly, ‘Up.’” The students did as she said, Draco and Harry looking to each other in speculation as they went to stand beside their brooms. They had been doing this for years, the exercise seemed childish at best. Harry hummed as he stuck his arm out and the broom immediately jumped into his hand without him saying anything. Draco’s did the same, but others were not so fortunate. Granger’s only rolled over, Prewitt’s went a couple of inches before collapsing back onto the ground, and a few of the other Slytherins had the same predicament. Madam Hooch went to the Gryffindors who needed assistance first, so Harry decided that he could help his classmates while she worked with the lions.

“Harry-“ Draco started as Harry went down the line, holding the broom in one hand as he helped Blaise hold his arm out straighter and say his command more clearly. The broom shot up into the dark-skinned boy’s grasp.

“Thanks, Harry.” Blaise said with a large grin. Harry smiled back with an equal grin before going over to Crabbe and starting to work with him.

“Mister Lupin-Snape, what do you think you are doing?” Madam Hooch asked him harshly. Harry jumped at the sound of her voice and he looked at her in confusion.

“You were helping the Gryffindors, ma’am, so I thought I’d help some of my house.” He said respectively, his eyes wide with wonder as to why he was being chastised. “I already have my broom. See?” He lifted the broom a bit to prove it.

“Yes, I see that, but until you are qualified to teach Quidditch, I would suggest you get back in line until you have further instructions.” Madam Hooch said harshly. Harry gave her an affronted look and went back to stand next to Draco.

“Well, that was rude. What did I do?” He asked his friend as Madam Hooch made her way to the Slytherins and saw that they were already assisted by Harry.

“I don’t know.” Draco responded, shrugging and shaking his head. Once everyone had a hand on their brooms, they moved onto mounting the brooms. Harry and Draco settled comfortably in the air, watching as Prewitt also did the same but definitely slower than the two of them. Harry and Draco settled into playing hand games while they waited, balancing their weight carefully so that neither of them fell over.

Once Madam Hooch went over to them, they went back to holding onto their brooms, one hand grasped with the other loosely over their flattened thumb. Draco’s back was straight as Madam Hooch examined his grasp and huffed before moving to Harry’s. Harry grinned as she nodded tersely and continued on.

They then did simple laps around the courtyard, to Harry and Draco’s intense boredom. They continued playing their hand games while they waited for the line to move and even while they moved.

Overall, it wasn’t a terribly bad lesson, just an incredibly dull one.

~

The Male Obstetrician wing of St. Mungo’s was painted a painfully cheery blue, the colour making Severus’s stomach curl as he walked in for his appointment. He had just finished his patrol shift and since Remus still had until four, he had gone ahead and scheduled his appointment so that he could learn the first bit of what he was to do to start this process. While the book that he had ordered for Remus was informative, it was more for the partner’s benefit than the one who would actually be bearing the child.

Those in the waiting room seemed as nervous as he felt. He took the clipboard that was handed to him once he went in and sat down in one of the ridiculously padded seats, beginning to write.

_Full name: Severus Tobias Lupin-Snape_

_Reason for Appointment: Initial Consultation_

_Healer: Catherine Boyd_

_Past Medical History- Please check those that apply to you, your partner, or family member (ie father, mother, grandmother, etc.)_

Severus carefully checked the boxes that applied, including high blood pressure (thanks to his mother), heart disease (Remus’s mother), and allergies to ink (his great-grandmother apparently had never been able to touch a quill for this reason, making it difficult for her to work in the wizarding world). Once he was finished, he set it face down on the table in front of him and it disappeared back to the front desk. He pushed the magazines that were set on the table until he found a three month old _Potioneer’s Digest_. He praised whatever gods were above as he sat back and began to read.

He had just gotten through the debates on whether McCall’s Theory on stirring was correct when he heard his name being called. He put down the magazine and followed the green robed woman through the hallways until he was directed into one of the offices. The office followed the same decorating styling as the waiting room of the painfully cheery blue, though it also offered some differences. The office held several different posters that showed various stages of pregnancy. Severus moved onto the examination table, sitting stock still as he glanced around at the different posters.

He didn’t _get_ nervous, he was merely uncomfortable in this office. He almost wanted his husband there with him, but he didn’t need to show such dependence. Even after the years of marriage to the lycanthrope, he still didn’t feel comfortable showing such things. He shuffled from where he sat, grasping his biceps as he tried to relax. His foot tapped as the time seemed to stretch on.

Finally, he heard a knock on the door and he sat up as the Healer entered. The woman was of very short stature, her green robes flaring out as she entered and took a seat on the rolling chair. She gave him a half smile and nodded. “Hello, Mister Lupin-Snape. I am Catherine, you already know that, and you need a consultation. Great. So, when is your partner coming in?”

“He’ll come in at another time. He doesn’t get off work until four.” Severus explained.

“Ah, I see. Well, here are some pamphlets about which runes will need to be tattooed onto you-“

“Tattooed?” The Auror asked in bewilderment.

“Oh, it’s a relative term. Once the child is conceived they’ll disappear. The runes are merely there to assist the magic that will create the womb where the child will reside and the child themself. I will do the runes at another time of course, but you will need to discuss with your partner when you two will be most comfortable tattooing his.”

“I’ll need to tattoo Remus’s runes?”

“Yes, the process is very delicate, especially with such… well… I don’t want to say problematic but more… difficult genetics as with you and your husband. The runes that I tattoo onto you will assist the creation of the womb and the ability for you to bear the child safely. Have you started taking the prenatal potions?”

“Yes, for about three weeks.” Severus confirmed, mentally going through how long he had been taking the potions. He had started almost a week before he had gotten the book for Remus, then had taken them daily for the rest of that time. Remus had also taken his during this time, his potions so that when it came time for the actual conception, he would actually be able to impregnate him.

“Has your husband been taking his?”

“Yes. For the same amount of time.” He told her, reading through the pamphlet with mild interest.

“Perfect. Do you have any other questions?”

“The book that I ordered for my husband mentioned that there is no… natural way to birth the child when the time actual comes. How will I know when the child is ready?” Severus asked.

“When the child is ready, the runes will return on you and your husband, signaling that the magic that created the womb and the child is nearly finished. You will need to come here straight away so that we can remove the child before the runes disappear or… the child will die.” The Potions Master sobered at the thought of doing all of that work and then finding out that it was all for nothing. He flipped the pamphlet over in his hands and nodded.

“Alright.”

“Was there anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.” Severus said with a mild shrug. Healer Boyd nodded as she stood from her stool and smiled warmly at him.

“Mister Lupin-Snape, I think it’s wonderful that you and your husband trust me so much with this delicate matter.”

“Ah, that was the other thing. This needs to be treated with the utmost delicacy. With my son already so much in the media, this sort of thing will be the juggernaut a lot of reporters would love to get ahold of.”

“Of course, Mister Lupin-Snape.” She said with a nod of her head.  

“Will I be able to use concealing charms in the later months?”

“Yes, though they should be used sparingly. The magic is already delicate and to have that for an extended period of time would be dangerous.”

“How long?”

“Eight hours at the very most.” Severus nodded.

“Alright, that will work fine. I don’t see any reason why I would use concealing charms around my family or friends, just when I’m in public is when I would prefer to hide the child.” He explained. She smiled.

“I understand, Mister Lupin-Snape.”


	9. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus insults James Potter, Remus smacks him, and justice catches up with a certain white-bearded man

_October 31 st, 1991_

Harry sat on the steps of Hogwarts, humming quietly to himself as he waited for his guardians to arrive. Every year on this day, he, Remus, and Severus would go to Godric’s Hollow so that the three of them could mourn their losses. Remus and Severus for their best friends; Harry for the loss of his parents. After all of them were done, they would go to Hogsmeade, have dinner together, then go home. Since this year Harry was at Hogwarts, they converted so that they could still go to dinner and then once done they would report back to Hogwarts so that Kimlor could meet them and take Harry back to Slytherin Commons.

Draco came waltzing down the hallway, seeing the silhouette of his best friend against the setting sun as he swayed side to side to his imaginary music. As he got closer, he could hear the humming of the piece that Harry had been practicing before they had left for the school. He sat down quietly beside Harry, staring out to the Black Lake. “So you’re sure you won’t be able to make it back for the Halloween Feast?”

“Yeah, we just want to keep the tradition of eating together after going to Godric’s Hollow for at least one more year.” Harry said with a shrug. Draco hummed and nodded.

“Do you ever miss them?”

“Yeah… sometimes. Mostly I wonder how my life would have been different if they were still alive. I think about how my Papa would probably just be one of those uncles who isn’t really an uncle, how Mister Sev would probably still be bitter and angry at… well, everyone, how I probably wouldn’t even know him as well as I do, how the two of them probably would have never gotten together. Wow, that’s kind of crazy. Because of my parents dying, my Papa and Mister Sev got married.” Draco hummed in thought. He had thought the same things, though not of that distinction, a few years after his mother died. “I guess it would be different if I had known them better. What about you?”

“Yeah, I miss her. I still don’t even know why she had to die. The pregnancy as far as I know went fine up until the birth. Then… everything went wrong. I sometimes wonder if… maybe… it wasn’t worth having Callie at all just for my mum to die.” Draco’s voice cracked as he looked at the steps, the familiar washes of grief moving over him. Harry’s face became solemn as he watched his friend’s shoulders shake and shudder as he stared at the steps, tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping off his too-long nose. Harry quickly wrapped his arms around Draco’s shoulders, shedding his own tears both at the loss of Miss Narcissa, who had been like a mother to him, and for his own parents who died too soon. He wasn’t quite as loud about it, just quiet tears that slipped down his cheeks.

Once they were finished, Draco huffed and wiped at his eyes. “Thank gods no one came out here.” He said with a proud tilt of his head, even as his face was puffy from tears and streaked with tears. He still managed to make a proud face and quickly wipe at his eyes again to get rid of the excess tears.

“Yeah, that would completely shatter the stereotype of Slytherins being heartless.” Harry said as he wiped his own tears.

“Or it would just show that two boys are human and feeling grief.” Both of the eleven year olds looked to the two adults who stood on the pathway, Severus with his hands behind his back and his Auror robes fluttering in the cool of the autumn evening, the top two buttons undone. Remus stood beside him, his modest corduroy robes also fluttering. Harry smiled and quickly stood, hugging both of them close. Draco smiled as well and waved his friend away, going back into the castle.

Severus, Remus, and Harry went down the path, not speaking about anything in particular as they reached Hogsmeade and Apparated to Godric’s Hollow.

The small village was decorated for Halloween, the paper decorations hung by the street-lights and dark lights hung from the gutters of the houses. Spiders moved across webs and children began their treks for candy with parents nearby. Severus, Remus and Harry moved down the sidewalk, slowly going to the end of the cobblestone where Potter cottage stood in shambles. The entire left half of the house was in desolation, the other half seeming to barely be able to stand. They went to the plaque that stood in front and Harry read it silently,

_On October 31 st 1981, Lord Voldemort was vanquished by Harry James Potter. But not before his parents, Lily and James Potter, sacrificed their lives in an attempt to safe him. Here we memorialize that night and leave the cottage in its original state for all to see the destruction that came from the terrible tyrant known as Lord Voldemort. _

Harry traced over his parents’ names, the indention rough against the pad of his thumb as he swirled with the movement of the names. Remus and Severus stood silently behind him, staring at the cottage with the sounds of Halloween behind them. Harry turned after a few moments and started down the path towards the cemetery.

Remus and Severus looked to each other as Harry brushed aside some of the groups of children who were dressed up for the holiday. The eleven year old looked much older than he should have as he went to the furthest side of the sidewalk as though the merriment was a disease for him. They went a bit faster to catch up with their son, Severus putting a supportive hand on Harry’s shoulder as they went into the cemetery. Remus put a hand on his other shoulder as they slowly moved with a practiced ease around the other gravestones until they reached the two they were looking for.

The Potter’s gravestone was a dark granite, an azalea and marigold etched with their vines intercrossed in between the two names.

_Lily Marie Potter (nee Evans)                                                                                                      James Harold Potter_

_Born January 30, 1960                                                                                                                    Born March 27, 1960_

_Died October 31, 1981                                                                                                                    Died October 31, 1981_

_Love Lost Too Soon_

Harry knelt in front of the gravestone and traced the flowers that were etched onto the surface. He felt more tears start to swell in his eyes as his mind returned to the fact that if something had been different, his parents would have been alive. “Hi Mum… Hi Dad. It’s kind of weird talking to a rock that has your names on it, but… this is the best I’ve got. I’m at Hogwarts now, which is… you know, pretty cool. I’m a Slytherin. Would you be proud of me? I know both of you were Gryffindors and that neither of you really liked Slytherins that much, but… I like to think that me being your son outweighed that… I’m doing really well with elvin training, Kaeasa isn’t letting up on me or anything… so I guess that’s good. Um…” He looked down at the ground beneath him. “I don’t know what else to say.” He told his guardians, looking up to them from where he knelt.

“I think you said plenty.” Remus told him kindly, smiling and helping the boy stand. Severus put his hand on Harry’s shoulder as Remus knelt for his turn.

“Hey Prongs, Lily. Not much has changed from last year, other than Harry going to Hogwarts. But he’s already told you about that. Gods, I never thought I could be nervous around you two. But maybe it’s just because… this isn’t you. I doubt either of you want to hear about anything else… Thank you for giving me such an amazing son to love.” Remus told them, smiling. He turned to Severus and the Auror quickly helped the werewolf to his feet, the man’s knees having a habit of giving up.

It was then Severus’s turn and he slowly knelt. “Lily, there was a time that I thought that I was in love with you. And perhaps I was. Now that I look back on it, on those emotions that I had about you, I realize that it was infatuation. I liked the idea of you. The girl down the street. But… one my sexual orientation doesn’t go that way. Thank you for helping me figure that out. Two, I already have the love of my life. I just wish you were alive so that I could figure it out with you by my side. As my best friend. And Potter… thank you for donating the sperm to create Harry.” Remus smacked him. “Ow. Alright, alright, some of the qualities that you passed onto Harry were not terrible.” That was the nicest thing that Severus had said in the years they had done this. Remus knew not to expect a lot from that part of his speech. He helped Severus stand, and together the family left Godric’s Hollow for greasy fish and chips from one of the pubs that were in Hogsmeade.

As they went back up the path to Hogwarts, Remus having produced some cauldron cakes to Harry’s delight and eating pleasure and Severus’s joy mostly because he loved chocolate, they saw something of a commotion happening at the school. Severus created a small ball of light and balanced it on his shoulder as the night had fallen over the grounds. Wind whistled eerily as they went up the front steps and saw that Kimlor was nowhere to be seen. There were a mix of students in the front corridor and Severus saw Greg and Mad-Eye standing near the middle.

“Greg? What’s going on?” Severus asked while moving towards the other Aurors in the area as Draco ran forward and quickly filled Harry and Remus in.

“A troll got into the school!” Draco exclaimed.

“Wait, a real troll?” Remus asked in amazement.

“Yeah! A real troll with a club and everything. We were sitting in the Great Hall, eating and all of that, and it really was good food, and Quirrel came running in. He told us that there was a troll in the dungeons and that he thought we needed to know. Then he passed out. Odd thing though was that he fell forward. Don’t people who pass out only fall back? Anyway, Dumbledore wanted all of us to go back to our common rooms, which was a really stupid idea because Slytherins and Hufflepuffs have common rooms in the dungeons. Professor Kimlor overrode him and told the Hufflepuffs to go with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins to go with the Ravenclaws. Well, the other teachers agreed with her and we all left. All of the teachers went down to get the troll and Magnus took the Slytherins and Ravenclaws while one of the other prefects took the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Some of the house elves brought some food from the feast but then we found out that that one girl, remember Granger?, got killed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, apparently Prewitt had said something mean to her and she had been crying in the girls’ room where the troll decided to go. Destroyed the cubicle she was in and smashed her brains right in.” Harry and Remus fell silent and looked to each other in horror.

“So that’s why the Aurors are here.” Remus muttered.

“Yeah, apparently Dumbledore’s in big trouble. There had to be some kind of hole in the wards for a troll to be able to get into the castle and considering that’s his responsibility, he could get charged with manslaughter.” Draco said enthusiastically. Remus fought down a smile. Even though he hated that a child had gotten caught in the crossfire, this was precisely what the Harry supporters had been waiting for. “They’re checking the wards now to see where the hole is.” Severus passed by them and Remus knew that he was fighting down a smirk as well.

Severus came back into the main area after several minutes and found Dumbledore talking to Mad-Eye. He was obviously trying to justify himself but Severus found a perverse sense of pleasure out of drawing his wand and creating binds around the old man’s wrists. “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are under arrest for tampering with Hogwarts safety wards, two thousand one hundred and twenty six counts of child endangerment, and manslaughter of Hermione Jean Granger.” The very walls seemed to sing with joy as Severus, Greg, Mad-Eye and the others of Severus’s team walked Dumbledore out of the castle.

And if Dumbledore tripped on the path just as Remus walked by, it was merely a coincidence. 


	10. Updates at the Auror Department

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus reads the paper, Greg begins to understand him, and Severus is faced with a very important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know this one is short. Yes I know that I'm nearly late. Yes, I know all of this. However, I am moving into college right now so if my updates are a bit slow, that is why. Sorry for any confusion or wonderings :)

_HEADMASTER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER OF STUDENT- HOW SAFE IS HOGWARTS?  
By Rita Skeeter_

_Last night was to be a night of merriment and joy. Samhein has always been a popular holiday in the wizarding world with every tradition short of human sacrifice._

_However, for Hermione Jean Granger; muggleborn first year Gryffindor, it was precisely that. During the traditional Halloween feast, Miss Granger was blissfully unaware of her fate as she sat in the girls’ bathroom. Her ignorance in the matter came to her death as she came face to face with a mountain troll. Within moments, the creature had smashed through her stall and also her head. She was dead within moments._

_Now parents and students are asking the same questions. How did a mountain troll get into a school that is supposed to be the safest place in Great Britain? Why did the Headmaster not do more to keep the wards up to their supposed greatness? According to the Hogwarts Constitution, Article 9, Section T, Subsection A954, the Hogwarts Heir or the person in lieu of said Heir [the Headmaster] is to keep outer wards, inner wards, and all other security measures within the most current protocol._

_Clearly Albus Dumbledore did not, as now Granger’s parents must face the reality of their daughter’s completely preventable death._

“She’s getting a kick out of this one, isn’t she?” Severus drawled as he folded up the paper and stuffed it into his inner robe’s pocket.

“Someone tarnishing their own reputation for everyone to see? Like a mosquito to blood.” Greg answered, putting a quick flourish on one of his forms with his signature. It was normally sloppy and quickly done, but for important documents like the ones that he usually had to sign, he liked to at least have it legible. “So what did you want to discuss?” The Senior Auror asked, straightening out his collar as an afterthought. Severus tapped his foot in a rapid set of three before sitting down in one of the straight-back metallic chairs that Greg kept in his office, obviously thinking over his response carefully.

He quickly set a Silencing Charm and several other surveillance charms before turning to Greg and telling him, “I am Hogwarts Heir.” Greg gave him a look that clearly said he needed to elaborate. “I only found out a while ago myself, but according to Lady Hogwarts-“

“Wait, Lady Hogwarts? I thought that was a story.” Severus shook his head.

“No, that’s what Dumbledore wanted everyone to think.” Greg gave him another look. The younger Auror seemed to think this over before nodding,

“It all started as far as we can tell with me…” And with a calm, smooth-as-silk voice Severus explained everything that had happened in relationship to Dumbledore. How he told the house elves at Hogwarts to mix Compelling Charms with a focus on him in with the students food so they would be more likely to follow him. The ignored cries of abuse. The blatant favoritism. And how Harry had nearly been a victim if not for Remus’s intuition. Greg gave him a look at this word choice and clearly didn’t believe him but otherwise said nothing. He continued to explain about the elves and faes (these two creatures had been showing up more and more on campus and had been one of the headlines, so Severus was not apprehensive about speaking about them) and how he had been in correspondence with his future replacement. Greg put two and two together of the time that they had been training and Severus had gotten around his shield.

“You might be good, Severus, but you’re not that good.” Greg said with a proud gleam in his eye.

“Actually, I am that good. Neither Hen nor Kimlor hit you. It was all me.” Severus told him with a prominent smirk.

“Alright, I give. Continue.” Greg told him, waving him on as he sat back in his chair, listening.

He didn’t ask any more questions after this, though he did give an impressed sound when Severus explained to him that he would essentially be Headmaster.

“The problem is I really enjoy working here. The pay is wonderful, the travel… while I don’t like leaving Remus and Harry is fascinating and I’ve become rather fond of my team.”

“Well, how many responsibilities do you have as Hogwarts Heir?” Greg asked calmly, giving him a curious look.

“Too many for me to try and count.” Severus replied, shaking his head. “I stopped around seventy six but it kept going for much longer.”

“Hmm… what other problems do you have with continuing to work here?” asked Greg. Severus gave a small sound.

“Remus and I are trying to… start a family.” He told him. “And I’ll be the one who will be carrying.” Greg hummed in thought.

“Well you know that we will give up to three month maternity leave. Four for men since your pregnancy has another month in it. How far are you?”

“We’ve started taking the prenatal and I’ve been forming the womb. Slowly. Once it has become enough that I can foster a child Remus and I will have the runes done and… hope.” Greg had been wrong about Severus. When he first met the man, he had thought that he had a soft spot for justice. And while he did to the strongest degree, it was more than that. The man genuinely loved children. It was clear in how Severus’s face lightened slightly at the thought of a child of his own. The Senior Auror nodded.

“Well, in the end the decision is yours. I would love to keep you on the field for as long as possible but if other responsibilities arise I won’t stop you.” Greg told him patiently. Severus seemed to think this over, twirling the platinum wedding ring on his hand as he stared at the floor.

“I’ll need to talk this over with Remus. Make adjustments.” He told him, finally looking up.

“Of course. Take the time you need to.” They were silent for a few moments before the younger man decided to speak again.

“So, on another note, how are the proceedings with Dumbledore?” Severus asked, pulling out the newspaper again. On the front page it showed Dumbledore thrashing in his bonds, Severus standing behind him looking particularly annoyed and the others on the team smirking like cats who got the cream. Moody was looking at Dumbledore as though he had killed all of his hopes and dreams and Greg merely raised a hand to keep himself out of the shot.

“As well as they can. We put him under Veritaserum and he admitted to tampering with the wards so that a troll would be let in and pushing back the elf and fae territories so that other creatures would be let in. It’s not particularly diplomatic how he did it either. Apparently he would just change the wards and then warn the two territories-“

“Afoiwia and Merrowmoor.” Severus reminded him.

“Yes, those two, that there might be something that could kill their offspring. Not precisely a notice I would prefer having for my kids.”

“You have kids?”

“Three of them. Two girls and a boy.” Greg took a picture off of his desk and handed it to Severus. In the frame it showed two girls nearly Greg’s height standing on one side of him, both of them sharing Greg’s tawny locks without the grey. They seemed to be laughing and Greg was looking at them with love. The boy beside Greg had his arm thrown over the older man’s shoulders, slightly taller and with clear bumps on his chest.

“Erm…”

“He’s still going through hormone therapy and surgeries. That one doesn’t have him recently.” The boy had a short cut and hair beginning to grow on his chin in a near goatee. He looked as happy as any of them in the photo. “I think that one was taken about a half year ago.”

“Where is your… partner?”

“My wife and I divorced after Adam was born. Too many differences and different wants in life.” Severus handed the photo back.

“My brother-in-law and his fiancée broke up while he was still in New York.” Severus told him. “He was absolutely heartbroken.” Greg shrugged with a sardonic smile.

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better Severus but I’m starting to realize that maybe women and men aren’t my thing.” Severus got up and gave him a small smile.

“Sexuality is fluid. I learned that myself.”

“Get back to work, Severus.” Greg told him with a fond smile upon his face. Severus chuckled.

“Yes, sir.”

 


	11. The Trial of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guards leave the courtroom, butterbeer is gotten at room temperature and Severus gets upset.

_November 13 th, 1991_

“Trail 365314WN Hogwarts versus Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore in the violation of Article 9 of the Hogwarts Constitution, two thousand one hundred and twenty two counts of child endangerment and the manslaughter of Hermione Jean Granger. Honourable Mugwump and Minister Cornelius Fudge presiding.”

“Alright, let’s get this over with. I want to get my lunch on time.” The Minister stated as he sat down at the front. The courtroom was silent, even the press box where reporters from all over had congregated to get the story of the century. Dumbledore sat in the metallic chair in the middle of the room, the chains wrapped around his forearms, forcing them down onto the armrests. Severus sat at the right side of the room, representing Hogwarts. The crown of the Hogwarts Heir sat proudly atop his head and his long black robes hugged his frame gently, not enough to be obscene but enough to make an impression. Runes were etched carefully onto his temples, though none knew what they were for except for Remus. Remus, Draco, Callie and Harry sat behind the plaintiff’s table, along with a number of other students who wanted to see what would become of their once beloved Headmaster. Minerva sat beside Severus as Deputy Headmistress, a scowl etched upon her face as she glared at her once mentor. The rest of the students had been released from the school until a new Headmaster or Headmistress was announced. After Hermione’s murder, parents had flocked to the school and demanded that they had their children, fear that they would have to touch such pain as the Grangers’ clear in their requests. The Board of Governor’s served as the jury and in interest for the school.

“Is the defendant under Veritaserum?” Severus asked as he stood. As representative of Hogwarts, he didn’t need a lawyer as he was essentially Hogwarts’ lawyer.

“Yes, he is.” The only sound was the court curator as she tapped away at her typewriter.

“Wonderful.” Severus drawled. “Dumbledore, where were you shortly before the troll was let in on October 31st?”

“I was in the Great Hall, eating the delicious Halloween Feast with my students and faculty.” Dumbledore said with a carefree smile upon his face.

“Let me rephrase.” Severus went back to his table and quickly pulled out a piece of parchment. He hummed as he went up the page until he nodded, “Where were you at approximately 4:09 of that afternoon?” This caused Dumbledore cringe as he forced out,

“On the grounds.” Severus nodded.

“And what were you doing on the grounds?” The old man flinched and seemed to be near vomiting as he choked out,

“Changing the wards so that a creature intending harm could enter.” The people behind the separators gasped and the press box broke out into a fury of scratching quills.

“And why were you doing that?” Severus drawled slowly, letting each word drip off his tongue like honey.

“So that Quirrel could lead the troll into the castle.” Two of the six Aurors who stood by the back quickly departed at Severus’s nod of his head, returning to the castle to collect the man.

“Was there any particular reason Quirrel was aware of this change in the wards?”

“He knew because I told him and that he could get to the Philosopher’s Stone.” Another two Aurors left. “Or at least try to.” Dumbledore corrected.

“Were you aware that you were putting over two thousand children and teenagers in danger?”

“Yes.” That one took the least amount of effort to restrain. The sound of scratching quills increased and the curator fought to keep up.

“Do you feel any remorse for the death of Miss Granger?”

“Yes. I wish that my plans had gone accordingly and she had not died because of my miscalculations.” Dumbledore admitted. Severus saw his chance to finally understand what was going on in Dumbledore’s mind.

“What plans did you have for the troll?”

“That the troll would enter, Harry would go after it with Neville Longbottom as they both would have seen the teasing occur to Miss Granger and recall where she had fled, Harry would have defeated the troll and thus formed a trio of friends who would lead him down the right path.”

“Right into your fingers.” Severus hissed.

“But instead _you_ didn’t listen to me when I told you that I didn’t think Remus adopting him was a good idea. You went _gallivanting_ about, teaching him all of the things that _I_ was to teach him. _I_ was to show him the greatness of the wizarding world, _I_ was to nudge him towards his final showdown with Tom Riddle, _I_ was to be his mentor!” Dumbledore exclaimed, to the shock and horror of the Board. It was clear who would be winning this particular case after that statement.

“He’s eleven years old.” Severus said in a soft voice, looking at the man who had once been his mentor with disappointment clear in his dark eyes. “He’s a _child_. Not a pawn that you can move about for your own sick pleasure.” Severus clenched his fists and turned away from the former Headmaster, his eyes blazing.

What happened next was something that even those present could not believe. The reporters who would attempt to report it would spend days typing then retyping their stories, unsure of how to put it into enough magnitude for their readers to understand, though they sure as well would try. Those present would whisper about it on the streets, trying to comprehend it themselves.

As Severus turned towards the jury, wave upon wave of magic exuded from him, the first slow and steady ripples turning into massive movements that took those present by shock. All of the grievances against the school, against its students, and against Hogwarts herself started flash through Severus’s eyes, though those who were outside of him merely saw his eyes changing rapidly from black to grey to white to all other colours of the spectrum. Then he spoke again, his voice much lower than before and seeming to roll across the skins of those who heard it, “Tu ad officium tuum dissimulanda schola, Heredis nomen Confudisti, Qui contrivisti te speraverunt fidem, Et sic non est.” Dumbledore wailed suddenly, thrashing in his binds as words began to sketch themselves into his skin in dark red writing, small pinpricks of blood appearing on the outsides as they wrote.

_Traitor_

_Fake_

_Deceiver_

_Liar_

All of these wrote themselves into his skin, the largest one going across his forehead, “TRAITOR”. Dumbledore fell against the back of the chair, his head resting against the headrest as though he was asleep. One of the guards who were left went forward and quickly checked his pulse.

Severus let out a slow breath as he sunk to his knees, obviously catching his second wind after using such power. Remus quickly jumped over the separator and went to his husband, helping him back up and checking him over. “You alright, love?”

“I’m alright. Just… didn’t realize that would take so much energy out of me.” The Auror explained as the commotion died down and Severus was able to stand on his own two feet again. Draco and Harry held Callie from going to her “Unka Sev’rus!”

“Alright, has the Board come to an agreement?” The Minister asked once silence prevailed again.

“Yes. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore will be discharged from his position as Headmaster and, if he is willing, Severus Tobias Snape, Lupin-Snape excuse me, will take his rightful place as Hogwarts Heir.”

“I am willing.” Severus told them. The audience broke into cheers and Greg went forward, patting the man on the shoulder. The Minister called the court adjourned and people began to file out, the Board of Governors chit-chatting with one another as they left the room. Lucius did not participate in such talks as he wanted to get to his children as quickly as he could.

“I only ask that you take this son of a bitch’s file down to the File Room.” The older Auror said. “Those stairs, I can’t begin to go down them anymore without needing five people to get me back up.” He said with a half-smile. Severus huffed and shook his head.

“Yes, sir.” He gathered up the papers and arranged with the curator to send a copy to the File Room of her report once she was finished. The woman agreed and Severus watched as Dumbledore was taken by the guards who had come in after those who had gone to school had left and was dragged out of the room. The tile did not look forgiving against his knees.

Severus turned to his family and Remus quickly pulled him down enough to peck his lips, even as some of the Governors’ sneered at them. “Put away your file and I’ll take the boys and Callie to dinner. Three Broomsticks okay?”

“Sounds perfect. Just a butterbeer-“

“Room temperature.” Both of them said together. Severus rolled his eyes at Remus’s grin.

“I swear, if we are becoming one of those married couples I will seriously reconsider what we agreed to.”

“I already have the runes, can’t turn back now, love.” Remus said with a smirk.

“I’ll give you that.” Severus said, hiding a smirk as he left the room and started down towards the Auror department.

The File Room was a fairly large rectangular room, aisle upon aisle of shelving filling every possible space. Boxes of past cases were stacked on top of the file cabinets and Severus whistled a mindless tune as he went towards the “D” section. It was alphabetical from the door onward. “Alphrad to Amerian… Azerian to Backstrode… Beckred to Black…” Severus stared at that particular cabinet for a few moments before shaking his head. “Just put the file away, Severus. Don’t let your curiosity get the best of you.” He told himself, quickly striding down the rest of the aisle and finding the D section.

“Here we are, right behind Dule.” Severus nodded as he put the file away and started back up the aisle.

He let his gaze linger on the Beckred to Black cabinet, tapping his foot in a few sets of three before letting his curiosity get the best of him. “I’ll only look at it for a moment. I just want to see what Black said at his trial to get Azkaban for life. Serial killers have gotten much less than that normally.” He muttered, justifying himself as he opened the cabinet and started flickering his fingers across the folders’ tops. “Ah, here you are. Right behind dear old Bella.” He said, looking at that file for a few moments before shaking his head and pulling out Sirius’s. It was surprisingly thin compared to the others.

Severus flicked it open and as he read he felt his eyes widen.

“Fuck.”


	12. The Trial of Sirius Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius relives fear, Severus drops his wand, and the Wizarding World is in for a big shock.

_November 15 th, 1991_

Azkaban Prison was manned primarily by dementors, but there were also humans who went around the cells and checked on the prisoners. The maniac cries of the inmates could be heard from the small island where rough waters lapped at the rocks. The only one who no longer scream was Sirius Orion Black.

When he had first arrived, he had screamed and thrown his weight against the door, demanding what was his right as a British citizen. If his mother had taught him anything useful, it was how the government worked. He had yelled for a human instead of a dementor who took every happy memory he had and slowly distorted it. He could hear James and Lily screaming in his head saying that it was his fault they were dead, his fault that Harry was an orphan. He should have killed the rat when he had the chance, he shouldn’t have let him get away. These thoughts had swirled in his mind for eleven years, causing him to slip into insanity and silence.

The humans were not much better when it came to being around him. One in particular enjoyed visiting his cell and trying to rile him up. He would bang against the door, making it echo across the stone of the cell and if he had more time he would enter. Everyone turned their head away from Sirius’s cries for help, sanctuary, anything. It was as though he was nothing in this world of criminals.

The figure who crossed the lake that pale November day was the epitome of grace and dignity. Dark black robes fluttered across their frame and the glint of gold against his forehead suggested some form of royalty. The door on Sirius’s cell was opened and his personal demon entered. “Come on Black, you’ve got a trial.” The man sneered as he forced Sirius to his feet and slammed him against the wall. Sirius closed his eyes, prepared for the familiar pain, but instead he felt a few waves of magic go around his wrists and he was pulled away from the wall and walked towards the door. The guard’s words slowly started to sink in as they walked down the hallway, other criminals quickly running to their own doors to watch him walk by.

"Goodbye, cousin dearest.” Bellatrix cooed, “Remember us fondly.” There were days she seemed normal and days she was clearly insane. This was one of those days.

They came to the front lobby and Sirius winced as the door squealed open and light and cold flooded the area. “What, you can give them balconies in their cells but you can’t give them decent clothes for the weather? Pathetic.” A familiar drawl came to his ears as heavy fabric suddenly was placed on his shoulders and covered him in warmth for the first time in a long time.

“Snape… great.” Sirius slowly said, being quickly pushed to his knees by the guard and his head was forced down. He couldn’t hold in a whimper.

“Lupin-Snape, thank you. Let him up, guard… Matthews. I’ll take over from here.”

“Yes, sir.” The sound of shoesteps going backwards and some going forward made Sirius look up. Snape looked much better than he ever had during Sirius’s freedom. His skin had a healthy glow, the runes across his temples, hands and probably elsewhere glinted slightly with their metallic colour. The crown upon his head offset his dark robes and the sneer upon his face was the only thing truly familiar to him.

“Lupin-Snape? Remus is raising Harry… with you?” Sirius couldn’t hide his shock. Severus gave him a blank look.

“This isn’t why I’m here. I’m only here to hand you over to the Ministry for your trial. Can’t believe Greg made me get you, I’m not even in the Auror Corps anymore.” Severus muttered mutinously as he took Sirius’s bond and got him to his feet. Sirius grabbed at the robes in front of him until he could stand upright. Severus gave him another blank look but otherwise said nothing as they went out of the prison and started towards the boat that was anchored on the island. Severus helped the criminal into the boat and climbed in himself before tapping the side with the tips of his fingers and the boat surged forward. Sirius slid off the seat in the boat from the sudden movement and fell onto his knees in front of Snape. Lupin-Snape. Whatever.

Rather than sneer at him again though, Severus pulled out his wand and flicked it at him, helping him sit back up even without the use of his hands. Sirius looked at him with amazement for the rest of the trip. The Snape he knew would have left him on his knees in the boat until they reached land and made him try and fight to get out once they got there. Instead by the time they reached land, Severus looked almost… bored.

They got out of the boat and started towards the Ministry building that was right at the edge of the water, the Muggle telephone box blending into the grey of the stone. It looked like salvation to Sirius.

They walked through the Atrium of the Ministry and Sirius watched as Severus nodded to those who milled about. Some of them actually smiled at him and some of them waved with a bemused look upon their face as an answer. He could hardly believe this was the same person who glared at him and James during Defense class and sneered when neither of them knew the answer to a question.

They went to Courtroom 9 and the jury who stood off to the side also looked bored as Severus undid his bonds. Sirius moved his wrists to get feeling back into them and stretched out his arms behind his back. Severus handed him a vial and Sirius looked at him with distrust. “Take the Veritaserum, Black. It could mean whether you go back to Azkaban or not.” He sneered. Sirius hadn’t uncorked and thrown back a potion faster in his life.

The odd sensation that anything he said was not his own flowed over his skin as the judge came forward and Severus put him into the metallic chair. The chains wrapped around his forearms and forced them down while chains moved around his calves and tied him down there as well. “Sirius Orion Black, you have been given the opportunity of a retrial. Are you currently under Veritaserum?”

“Yes.”

“Were you born October 24th, 1959?”

“Yes.” Severus leaned against the separators and began twiddling with his wand, flipping it over his knuckles.

“Where were you at 7:45 PM on October 31st, 1981?” Sirius’s eyes widened as he said,

“In the Leaky Cauldron.”

“And why were you there?” The judge snarled. He obviously expected Sirius to admit that he had been in cohorts with Voldemort or one of his followers.

“I was meeting someone.” _Please leave, Snape. Please leave._

“Who was that?”

“Lucius Malfoy.” He forced out. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Severus froze mid-flip.

“Why were you doing that?” The judge asked, leaning forward with a malicious gleam in his eye. Sirius seemed to gag as he tried to fight the Veritaserum but in the end let it spill out,

“He and I were in a relationship before he got married to his wife.” His voice cracked on the last word and his eyes watered from the effort it had taken to keep the words inward. The judge looked at him with open amazement and a small clatter of wood on stone could be heard.

“What happened after that?” Severus asked softly.

“I stayed with him until 10:42 PM then went to go find Peter Pettigrew because I had a bad feeling something had happened. Sixth sense or whatever you want to call it. When I got to his hiding spot, I found that there had been no sign of a struggle or anything and that’s when I knew that I had made a terrible mistake.

“Nearly a year after James and Lily had chosen me as Secret Keeper, I don’t remember why but I didn’t think that I could be trusted anymore to hold the secret of where they lived at the time. It was the oddest feeling because I knew that I would rather give my life than betray James and Lily. But… I don’t know before I could stop myself I was convincing James that Peter would be the better choice and Dumbledore switched us.

“After James and Lily got killed, I was filled with this irrational anger. I knew that I was supposed to take care of Harry since I was his godfather, but I was more interested in trying to find Peter. Then the explosion and Peter getting away… I thought that Dumbledore would help me. Where had he been?” Sirius looked down at the floor, obviously lost in thought. Severus shook his head and picked up his wand.

“Mugwump Alaster, I believe that is enough evidence to release Sirius Black from his charges?” The judge was still obviously amazed by the confession, though Severus’s snapping in front of him called his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Oh, yes. Sirius Orion Black, you are hereby released from your charges of thirteen counts of manslaughter, betrayal of the Potters, and the murder of Peter Pettigrew.”

“And?” Sirius led on.

“And for your believed service to Lord Voldemort.” The judge relented.

“And?” Sirius asked.

“And the Ministry apologizes for your years in unrightfully bestowed imprisonment.” He stated.

“And?”

“And what?” The judge snapped.

“I don’t know, I just wanted to see what else.” Sirius admitted with a large grin. Severus rolled his eyes behind him as he undid the bonds on Sirius’s forearms and legs. The former inmate stretched himself out, grinning from ear to ear as he ran out of the courtroom at full speed, prepared to feel the warmth of the sun on his face again. A long spidery grasp caught his bicep and made him spin around to see Snape, Lupin-Snape, whatever, glaring at him.

“Black, you _just now_ got released from your charges. None of the public is going to know you are actually innocent. Can we not have a riot five minutes after you are freed?” Severus snapped, looking at him as though he was dense, idiotic, and every form of stupid. His face softened after a few moments though and he added, “Remus also wanted to see you if you actually turned up innocent.”

“Really? Moony wanted to see me? Man, that must rile you up a bit.” Sirius said, grinning.

“Remus and I have been married for a little over a year, we’ve been a committed relationship for over five years including said marriage, and we have sex on a regular basis. I don’t see him wanting to see you as much competition.” The man said with a large smirk. Sirius huffed as Severus led him down the hallway and towards the Floo.

That was when Sirius realized the difference between this Snape and the one that he had known at Hogwarts. The one at Hogwarts had been slouched over his books, not wanting to talk to many people except those who were part of his little social circle, and seemed to sprint to his classes rather than slow down and talk. This one however walked with an easy grace, his head held high and his arms clasped behind him as though he had little cares. The runes that showed through his hair Sirius wasn’t quite able to decipher, though he had a feeling he should know what they were.

He stood beside Snape as the man collected some Floo powder and stated, “Moonlit Cottage, Kensington, England.” The two disappeared in a flurry of green flames.


	13. Vanishing Runes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus is insecure, Remus proves him wrong, and Sirius contemplates his world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A part of this chapter is for Goshi, and she'll know which part. Also, I'M SORRY!!! I DID NOT MEAN TO MISS MY DEADLINE BUT COLLEGE AND HOME AND PLACES AND STUFF HAPPENED! I HOPE THE CUTE AND THE ANGST WILL MAKE UP FOR IT!

_November 19 th, 1991_

“Remus, I’m going to sound like an ignoramus when I ask this.” Severus warned as he finished buttoning up his night shirt, standing on the other side of his and Remus’s bed. The other man glanced up from where he laid, questioning him silently.

“Okay. I won’t hold it against you.” Remus responded, bookmarking his current novel and setting it on the nightstand beside him. Severus huffed as he climbed into the bed and dimmed his lamp.

“Something Black said got to me. Or rather, made me think.” The werewolf again gave him a questioning look, unsure of what Sirius could have said that caused wonder and speculation from his husband. After Severus and Sirius had arrived at Moonlit, Remus had done exactly three things.

Firstly, he held Harry back as the eleven year old surged forward screaming, “YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!” It had taken Remus’s full strength to keep him at bay as Draco, who had been there for a luncheon, ran forward and quickly soothed him. “Calma, caro amico, calma.” Harry sagged forward, Draco’s eyes flashing the same time as the other boy’s, and finally Remus felt comfortable enough to pull him up into a looser embrace.

“Damn it, Draco, don’t do that to me.” Harry murmured at the time, giving a weak glare that clearly held no heat. Sirius looked between his godson and the blonde boy standing in his best friend’s sitting room in blatant shock.

Secondly, Remus looked to his husband with clear affection on his face. Remus’s face had always been that way, full of emotion except for those that he wanted to hide. Sirius watched as Snape, Lupin-Snape, smirked at him and moved forward, his shoulders sagging as if a weight had been lifted. Remus glanced over at Sirius and his eyes widened dramatically. His face became pulled in and guarded, the exact opposite of how he had been mere moments ago. He seemed to stay there for a few moments with that expression on his face, Snape moving forward and taking Harry from Remus’s hold. The eleven year old snapped out of his weak stance and quickly ran forward, ramming his frame into Draco’s in retribution. The blonde stumbled back and the two of them quickly engaged in a wrestling match to Snape’s clear annoyance.

Thirdly, Remus moved towards Sirius and embraced him like a brother. Sirius let out a huff of relief and returned it, smiling into Remus’s shoulder as Harry exclaimed, “Hey, no ice powers!”

Since then, the former inmate had taken to staying the spare room until he could find a decent flat and restart his life of freedom. He and Severus still bickered endlessly and Harry didn’t quite know how to handle the man who was clearly not his parent’s inadvertent killers but had been that person up until that point.

“What did he say?” Remus asked curiously.

Severus seemed to think over how to say this as he laid down on his back, staring up at the ceiling and counting the bumps that were barely hidden by the paint. “Don’t leave me for Black.” He whispered finally as Remus turned off his own light.

“What?” The werewolf asked incredulously.

“I know I’m not the most conventionally attractive man in the world and my personality could curdle milk and this whole Hogwarts Heir thing is a bit bizarre right now, but if you left me for anyone, please don’t let it be Black.” Severus told him in a normal tone, clearly trying to keep himself calm as he laid out all of his fears. “I got over my hatred of you mainly because you squirmed your way into my life so easily that I could no longer ignore you and I was worried for Harry and the whole mate thing and now that all of this time has gone by, I realize that I truly do not want a life without, mmph.” The man’s ramble was cut off by the sudden weight of his husband as the other man rolled over to straddle him and the kiss that left him breathless.

“First of all, you may not be conventionally handsome, but you most certainly are handsome to me and a good number of other people.” Remus told him as he settled more comfortably in the other man’s lap. “Second of all, your personality might be stand-offish, frankly you’re more offensive to most people than you should be and you know it, but that’s merely because you don’t like idiocy and stupidity. And that’s perfectly fine. That’s why you don’t need to be around teenagers because they exude both of those on a daily basis.” His hands went to Severus’s hair and anchored themselves in is locks. “And thirdly, why would I want to leave my brilliant, Sherlock Holmes obsessed, strong-willed, resilient Potions Master who changed the entire recipe for male pregnancy and refined it to the point that it had the same miscarriage rate as heterosexual pregnancy and so that the child would not have the possibility of the werewolf gene for _me?_ That day in the legal department I meant it when I said ‘To eternity we stay united’.”

“I thought we were case,”

“458M2.” They said together, Remus chuckling. “I know we were. But still, that day I promised that our civil union was as good as marriage. And that means you are not getting rid of me by any stretch of the imagination. To eternity we stay united.” He sealed this with another kiss, this one dissolving into groping and strokes of red hot skin and frenzied Silencing charms to keep their adopted charge innocent and unaware for a while longer.

~

Walking into rooms where he was not wanted was a regular pastime for Sirius Black. The girls’ dormitory, his lover’s room right when his father told the other man that he would be marrying Narcissa Black, and the Ravenclaw Quidditch changing room were merely examples of such rooms. So that morning Sirius walked around the cottage of his friend, unsure of where he was. He knew upstairs was where Harry slept and that the kitchen was off of the sitting room. He would have liked to go around the grounds, but the fog felt too heavy on his skin, reminding him of the sea air that surrounded Azkaban and shrouded his nightmares in shadows.

He opened a random door and found what many would see as a beautiful scene.

Snape laid on his back, a thin veil of sweat over his skin as the sun began to rise through the window. Remus was curled around him, both of them still fast asleep. The black and white duvet was slung low around their hips, giving Remus’s scars full exposure in the morning sun and the part of the Dark Mark that could still be seen on Snape’s forearm from where it wrapped around Remus’s back and ended at his hip. Remus’s face was in profile on Snape’s chest, mouth slightly agape and hair windswept from obvious exertion.

The runes that Sirius had noted on Snape’s body before were gone.

Snape snuffled in his sleep, slowly waking and looking down at the man who slept on him. The man’s lips quirked into a half smile at the sight and a too pale hand came to sweep away a piece of hair that gently looped around Remus’s nose. A platinum ring on his left hand glinted in the light. The man seemed to become slightly more awake as he glanced at his hand and seemed to search for something. He brought his other hand from around Remus and looked it over before Conjuring a floating mirror and pushing the hair around his temples away to reveal pale skin. He Banished the mirror before shaking Remus awake with shock clear on his features.

Sirius couldn’t hear any of the conversation that followed, but Snape’s actions spoke for themselves. He shook Remus awake rather violently, saying something that seemed to involve calling Remus a lazy wolf. The werewolf gave him a glare and tried to hit him but failed miserably. Snape said something else very slowly and Sirius was able to pick out the sentence as, “The. Runes. Are. Gone.” Remus looked at the man in shock before looking down at his own body then Snape’s, looking at Snape’s hands and temples for several minutes before seeming to let out a silent noise of joy. He flipped over enough to be on top of Snape and kissed him hard, a smile apparent on both of their features.

Sirius had no clue how to respond to such joy that was practically emanating from the couple. He had liked to imagine in his less insane moments that the terrible day Lucius had left without a word and the next time Sirius had heard from him was the wedding announcement in the Daily Prophet had never happened. He liked to think that the war would have ended without further bloodshed than what had already occurred and James would have teased him relentlessly about his relationship but would have otherwise not been angry about the revelation. He dreamed that Lucius would have stood up to his father or, at any rate, his father would have died and Lucius wouldn’t have to have been under his thumb any longer. The secondary part of that dream had been a questionable part of his sanity in the first place.

He knew that he hadn’t had a lot beyond his decrepit little flat over Fortesque’s that had originally been a storeroom until Mr. Fortesque wanted to rent it out to some Hogwarts graduate for some extra income and his motorbike, but Lucius had seemed okay with it after a while. At any rate, the spare button-down and pair of socks had made their way into the flat one by one until they had to fight for time in the bathroom in the mornings and both of them were late for their respective jobs since these fights turned into rough, hot, delicious sex more often times than not. Lucius had been fascinated by the bike, even though he had been adamant that he would never ride it and there were not enough blowjobs in the world to change that.

Sirius slowly slipped back out of the door, shaking with the realization that Lucius hadn’t even tried to save him even though he was on the Wizengamot. He had truly been forgotten.


	14. Wanted Ads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry works on his homework, Severus hits Sirius with a newspaper, and a little girl giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I'm not going to give my frantic 'Dear God don't kill me I'm sorry I'm a terrible person' thing that I did last time. I'm just going to lay it all on the line for you guys. I'm in college. This past weekend I have driven three and a half hours to get home and I'm going to be doing it again this weekend. I still don't know which way the sky is half the time. I would like to say that I'll never ever miss a chapter day again, but that won't happen. And until I can get on a definite schedule (which won't happen until this weekend is up) just imagine a big neon sign over this story saying /AUTHOR'S LIFE UNDER RENOVATION. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!/ Okay? Okay. Reviews make the author go "Whoo!"

_November 20 th, 1991_

_LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER HOGWARTS HEADMASTER FROM GRANGER PARENTS- HOW WILL DUMBLEDORE RESPOND?_

_By Rita Skeeter_

“So, let me get this right, Dumbledore’s been manipulating all of us basically since our birth on because…”

“We still don’t know why.” Severus told Sirius as they sat at the breakfast table, Severus and Remus sitting together on one side, Harry beside Remus, and Sirius on the other side. Harry flipped through the paper and found the crossword before starting on it with his free hand as the other shoveled in eggs. “We have gotten so far as to know that he does plan far in advance when it comes to his little schemes, but not enough for the full purpose of it.” The man told him, making a vague hand gesture to fully illustrate this. “Basically if one thing changes in his schemes there are lives at stake. As shown with the Granger girl.”

“I went to the visitation.” Remus told them. “Not the funeral since I really didn’t know the girl, but… it was tragic how young she looked. Her parents put her in a paisley dress that apparently they were going to give her for her first dance. They obviously had it altered to actually fit her, so it looked so much more… innocent than it probably should have.” The werewolf explained, looking down at his breakfast and taking another bite of bacon as he continued to think about that visitation. The parents were in the front row, the mother sobbing into her husband’s shoulder while the husband stared at the open casket with dead eyes. It was as though all light had been quickly quenched from them. A few Ministry officials stood in the row behind them, all of them with their heads bowed in pain for the girl but still looking around as though waiting for someone to come bursting through the melancholy scene.

The men at the table fell silent in thought of this before Harry pushed his chair out from the table and started for the kitchen with plate in tow. “Hey Papa, Mister Sev, can Draco come over? We need to start- I mean, finish that homework that we were sent.” Even though the school was currently closed because of the Dumbledore debacle, teachers still sent their students assignments through owl so that none of them lagged behind in their studies. Severus gave the boy a withering look and Harry grinned sheepishly. “Please? You know I work better when there’s someone helping me.” He led on, jumping from foot to foot in an epitome of innocence, his silverware bouncing on the plate in rhythmic clanks. Sirius huffed at the sight of his godson, grinning from ear to ear as Remus rolled his eyes at his son’s dramatics.

“Alright, fine. But we’ll get Neville too. Someone needs to keep you two in line.” Remus called over Harry’s triumphant whoop and run for the sink. The boy ran out of the kitchen moments later to the sitting room, wanting to get a hold of his friends before his Papa changed his mind.

“Yes, putting three boys who have been best friends since they were seven will definitely get work done.” Severus drawled, giving Remus a stony look.

“Oh, hush you. Admit it, if this had happened while you were in school, you’d be itching for any chance you could to get the Circle together.” Remus replied, sending him a raised eyebrow as he collected his own plate. Severus hummed and gave no sound of response as he finished off his own breakfast and stood from the table.

“So, did you talk to Mister Fortesque about getting your old flat back?” Remus asked Sirius as the man stood from the table as well, obviously uncomfortable with the idea of being alone sitting there.

“Yes, mum.” Sirius told him with a smirk as Severus rolled his eyes and went to the sink, collecting the _Daily Prophet_ as he did so. “He said that as long as I find steady income within the month, the flat is mine. Apparently he’s gotten no other takers since me because the whole ‘murderer-once-lived-here’ thing is apparently bad for business.” He explained, giving a shocked face as though he had never thought of such a thing before. In all honesty, after he had been released, it had been a shock to the world when the story came out that not only was Sirius Black not a criminal, but he was framed and the real person to blame could be right under their noses. He was being praised as a martyr for spending all of those years in solitude in one of the most depressing places in London, to Snape’s intense annoyance.

“Really? I would think the fact that a ‘murderer’ lived in the flat would have brought all of those risk-takers to Mister Fortesque’s shop just itching for that flat.” Remus said sarcastically. “But it’s good that he’s not just handing it back to you.”

“Oi! I can get a job somewhere. It isn’t that hard. I’ll take that.” Sirius whirled around and snatched the _Daily Prophet_ from Severus’s grasp before flipping to the Wanted Ads and getting them before Severus took the paper, rolled it up, and smacked the man firmly on the head.

“Bad dog!” The man snapped, unrolling it and going back to the article he was reading before. Sirius rubbed at his head petulantly before shoving the Wanted Ads in Remus’s face.

“See? See? Plenty of jobs out there. Now let’s see what the world has for Mister Sirius Black.” He said as he got a pen from the countertop and went out of the kitchen with a large grin on his face. The paper was positioned perfectly in front of his face in such a way that as he walked out, he didn’t see the oncoming figure until he ran smack into them. His paper crumpled in his hands as he slowly looked up from the dark grey, nearly black in a certain light, robes with the light silver buttons to the face which was looking down at him with undoubtedly the same look of awe and shock.

“Hello, Lucius.” He could hardly begin to breathe looking at that same face that he had seen thrown back in fits of laughter and narrowed in thought over his final decision on who he would be with. His face was older now, frown lines marring his silver eyes and his hair slightly longer than it used to be.

“Hello, Sirius.” The younger man, to Lucius, had always been handsome. The child like persona was wrapped in aristocratic features that were something to behold. But the bags under his eyes were gaunt and while he had a certain light back after good food and equal company, there was still a haunted glaze that overtook his face. Both of them had grown older, Father Time unwilling to slow for any man.

They stood like that for a few moments, Sirius’s stolen Wanted Ads slightly crumpled in his suddenly sweaty fists and precariously close to Lucius’s robes and Lucius looking down at the man who had always been just an inch or two shorter than him before the spell was broken by Harry. “Mister Lucius, this is Sirius. He isn’t a criminal or a murderer. Go figure. Sirius, this is Mister Lucius. He’s Draco and Callie’s father.”

“Fata, fata!” Callie ran from behind Harry’s legs and threw herself at her father. The man stepped back enough to turn slightly and catch her, swinging her up into the air and onto his hip. The girl giggled and squirmed in her father’s hold. The blond looked at her with clear love in his eyes and Sirius snapped out of his reverie of the past.

“And who is this little ball of sunshine?”

“I’m Caiy Mafoy.” She said, nodding her head. “Who are you?”

“I’m Sirius Black. Pleasure to meet you Callie Malfoy.” Sirius said, sweeping into a low bow and taking the little girl’s hand to kiss the back of it. The girl erupted into giggles and hid her face in Lucius’s neck.

“Always the charmer.” Sirius heard Lucius mutter. Another roar from the fire alerted them of another person and Draco and Harry ran for the sitting room, throwing themselves at Neville as he entered with a grin. Lucius gave Sirius another long look, slowly letting his gaze slide over the man’s frame until coming back to his face. Sirius snapped himself out of it and quickly fixed his Wanted Ads, going into the sitting room to get started on them and ignoring the low heat that was boiling from his stomach.


	15. Brewings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Slytherins in two different locations brew about different things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and to Ascended for warning me about AO3 being a bint again. You're all beautiful :)

_November 21 st, 1991_

The fire crackled happily in Moonlit’s fireplace, warming the otherwise drizzly evening. Severus Lupin-Snape sat at the chair by the window, watching as the beginning of sleet started down on its icy path. One hand rested on a book balanced on the armrest while the other sat against his still flat stomach. Part of his pregnancy included him not transforming into Silvergrey and leading Remus away from the cottage. It nearly physically pained him not to be doing so after doing it for so long, but he knew the reasons behind it. Even if the child was only a quickly growing bundle of cells right now, who knew what could happen if the carrier suddenly decided to change form.

He had hated seeing Black’s face when Remus asked him to change into Padfoot and follow him out once he transformed. Severus gave the former inmate a brief synopsis of the path that he normally took Moony on and that the creek would still keep Moony from following him over since it hadn’t frozen over yet. Once it did they would just run Moony to exhaustion and sleep. Black seemed to understand, though his face when Remus told him that Severus was not only his husband but his mate made the situation slightly better in Severus’s opinion.

He heard the echo of a howl and his eyes closed as he could nearly translate it, “ _Where is he? Where is my mate?! MY MATE!”_ Shivers ran their course down his back and over his arms and he nearly stood but pushed himself back down with a firm hand on his stomach. It wasn’t just him anymore. He had the child to consider. Another howl reached his ears and he quickly stood, putting away the book and starting for the spare room where he kept his private lab. A bit of brewing would calm his heart from obeying his Alpha’s command.

He locked the door behind him, though he cast a small Surveillance Charm on Harry’s room so that if the boy needed him he would know. It was much easier to care for the boy now that he was older and could do basic things on his own. While Severus would always hold a special place in his heart for that little boy who hid beneath the table, he knew that this Harry was much better off than that one, both emotionally and physically. Harry had been taking his Nutrient Potions religiously since the day his Healer had told Remus to start giving them to Harry since his growth had been so terribly stunted from lack of food and the very ability to grow. Even after the Molly Prewitt incident Harry took them, something about the knowledge that maybe he would reach the same height as his classmates spurring him on undoubtedly.

He slowly set up his cauldron, striding over to the northern facing window and pulling the blinds shut. His hand strayed to his stomach as he found the ingredients he needed for a Hair Restoration Potion that one of his clients needed him to brew and went back to his cauldron. His mind traipsed away from his work as he began to monotonous task of cutting up the juneberries and squeezing the juice out of them.

He glanced around the room and wondered briefly where the child he now carried would be once they left the bassinet. Moonlit only had three bedrooms, this one having been cut in half to accommodate Black while he finished getting moved into his flat. He would not dare put an infant in this sort of environment. While Black was slightly worse than a child himself, he at least knew which ones you did not tip over lest you cause an explosion. A small child would not know that, even if they were rigorously taught. Accidents happened and it was hardly a good idea for Severus to be brewing in the first place.

He played with the idea of putting the child in Harry’s room, but then came to a startling realization. What if the child was a girl? Harry would most likely be uncomfortable with the whole situation; not because he was sharing a room but because it was with a girl, and once the child got older she would be uncomfortable.

He couldn’t make these sorts of plans without first knowing more details, so he quickly shoved aside all thoughts of children and pink ribbons for favour of his brewing. That was why he had come down here in the first place, to get away from his traitorous thoughts.

~

Lucius Malfoy’s desk was of dark oak with a fine chestnut finish, the rolltop counter making it easy to keep important documents and other things away from prying eyes and sticky fingers of children. This is where Lucius Malfoy found himself on the dark drizzly night, slowly penning away at the piece of legislation that had kept him away from writing his son more vigorously. He signed the bottom with a slight flourish and nodded, holding the parchment down with a few paperweights to let the ink dry.

His mind strayed to his children who just down the hall from him were sleeping peacefully. Callie curled around her stuffed dragon that Draco had graciously given her on the day of her birth undoubtedly with a childish smile upon her face. She reminded him so much of her mother in the innocent way that she did not seem to notice the situation around her, only taking in beauty and wonder at the most simple of things. Draco was most likely splayed across his bed, covers down around his ankles and his face agape in sleep. While he adored his son effortlessly, the boy did worry him at times at how much he truly was like Lucius at that age. He only hoped that Draco would not make the same mistakes he did.

Seeing Sirius Black again brought back many memories. Some of which were sad, yes, but others that held a certain nostalgia that had Lucius itching to make more memories of that sort. He had played with writing the man once or twice since his release, perhaps for coffee or tea. It was nearly irritating to Lucius when he realized that he remembered precisely what Sirius had with his coffee. Nearly all sugar with just a hint of coffee. Of course, Lucius wasn’t much better in that regard but many jabs were sent over that.

The flat over Fortesque’s had been more of a home to Lucius than Malfoy Manor at one point, the yellow-stained windows and slight smell of burnt sugar only adding to the charm of the place. He had been waiting for the day that Sirius would ask him to just move in already since he stayed there most of the time anyway before his father had hit him with an ultimatum. The Black family had been disgraced ever since Sirius had left in a flame of grievous homosexuality and Gryffindor colours and they were having trouble marrying off their middle daughter. Bellatrix had married her Hogwarts sweetheart, a scene that all of the Circle undoubtedly remembered fondly since Bella had been the epitome of a beaming bride and had literally leaped into her first kiss with her husband to the congregation’s amusement, and their youngest had gone and married a Muggle man, a complete disgrace that nearly matched Sirius’s. And while Lucius was still in Voldemort’s reign, his father still held some much higher connections in the same arena that Lucius now played in. His father’s ultimatum had been simple. Marry Narcissa Black or have your bedwarmer killed in a ceremony for the Dark Lord.

While he did adore Narcissa, their marriage had been one of the happiest things in his life, he could safely say that his true and honest love belonged with a man who would undoubtedly never speak to him again. He sighed as he pushed aside the paperweights and started rolling up the legislation. He reached blindly with his quill to put it into one of the cups that he kept on his desk when the tip knocked it over and quills splayed themselves across his desk. One of them fell into an open drawer that Lucius had been prepared to put his legislation in once he sealed it and the Malfoy patriarch began to shuffle the rolled up papers and the still unused parchment in an attempt to find it. He felt the sharp edge of the quill against his fingers and he held onto it along with a few other papers as he pulled it back out. He righted his cup and began to put the quills back in as he shuffled through the papers to see what they were.

There was a picture that Callie had drawn him of a tree with a smiling sun and the small pond they had on their grounds having little fish jumping out of it. There was a letter that Draco had sent him right before Hogwarts had been closed. And another. And another. He really needed to get back in the game when it came to writing his son at school if this was the result. There was a letter from Narcissa- He looked back at the parchment and felt his eyes widen. His wife’s beautiful script elegantly wrote: _My Dearest Husband_.

He felt as though all of his breath had been taken away as he slowly took the parchment and turned it over in his hands. It was only a few years old, obviously written before her untimely death, and he itched to know what she said. He undid the seal and read:

_My Dear Lucius,_

_As I lay here dying, I look at you and wonder how you will handle the loss. I pray that the child within me will survive and you will not be with too much pain but I cannot be certain. The Healer I have talked to has already told me that this beautiful child within me was a miracle to conceive and will equally be a miracle to deliver with both of us alive. So, I arranged for my life magic to slowly be siphoned into the child so that by the time delivery occurs, they will undoubtedly live. It is a large price to pay to leave you and my dearest children, but it is a price that I will pay._

_So, I give you these final words of wisdom from a female perspective._

_I know that you were in love, and possibly still are in love, with my cousin Sirius. I am not blind my dearest nor am I stupid. Your pride is too high to admit your mistakes and while I understand your choice, I doubt Sirius did. I doubt you took the time to tell him, merely leaving without a word to him and merely to your father. While Abraxas is a wonderful father-in-law to me, I know that his influence is powerful and that you are undoubtedly scared of the repercussions._

_So, in a few years once you have finished grieving and if Sirius Black still holds a flame for you, go for him. I will look on fondly from the heavens since I know Sirius will not harm our children if they are dear to you._

_If this child ends up a girl, do not hide her away from the world just for the sake of keeping her safe. Safety is a relative term and eventually the hold you have on her will slip and you will be unable to get it back._

_If this child ends up a boy, do the same as above, but also recall that he might not take so much after you as Draco has. The child might want to do other wonderful things that you cannot plan for. This applies to if the child is either boy or girl. Stand by them regardlessly, for they will need some form of support._

_Do not be afraid, my dearest love, for even if your heart yearns for another, I know I will hold a certain place within your heart. It might not be true love, but it was a love I adored for all the years we were able to spend together._

_Close your eyes, love. Count to ten. Breathe out. And let me go._

_I adore you, my dearest Lucius,_

_Narcissa Lyra Malfoy nee Black_


	16. Back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students return to school, the Great Hall is now a circle, and Severus might kill a teacher before the year is out. Possibly.

_December 1 st, 1991_

“Back to school we go then.” Harry stated, grinning from ear to ear as he, Draco, Neville and the twins went up the familiar path to the castle, following the drove of people who were also eager to return.

“Back to school we go! Back to school we go! We stuff our heads then leave our beds and back to school we go!” Fred sang in an off-key tone, to the others great amusement.

“Hey, Draco where are Blaise and Theo and Pansy?” After spending nearly a month without the rest of their motley crew near, Harry realized that he truly did enjoy all of their company. Theo’s sharp wit matched Harry’s inquisitive nature stroke to stroke while Blaise’s perceptions made Harry reconsider many of his own ideas. And Pansy… well, he didn’t hate her and she despised him so they kept an odd sort of relationship that Harry still enjoyed. He couldn’t help but find amusement out of riling her up.

“Oh, they’ll meet us in the common room. I think they got here a bit earlier with their parents.” Draco told him, nodding. “So’d you two beat the earliest detention record?” The faerie asked, turning to Fred and George.

“Nope.”

“The elusive Marauder legacy lives on.” George said dramatically. “But we will beat it yet.”

“Wait. _Marauder_ legacy?” Harry asked them incredulously. “That’s the record you guys are trying to beat?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s the one.”

“My biological father, Sirius, my Papa and Pettigrew did that one.” Harry said in amazement, his eyes wide with the realization. Fred and George’s faces fell into similarly shocked expressions before Fred moved forward.

“Do you mean to tell us-“ George came up beside his twin.

“That you have had-“

 _“Marauder_ blood in you-“

“And you didn’t tell _us!_ ” The two said together. Harry slowly backed away and Draco and Neville stepped to either side to give a bit more room.

“I didn’t know they were that big a deal?” Harry tried valiantly. Fred and George looked to each other then to Harry.

“If you think we believe that-“

“You are sorely mistaken.” Harry stood there for a few more moments before turning on his heel and bolting for the castle. Fred and George ran after him at full speed, yelling at the top of their lungs. Harry ran up the steps and squirmed his way through the crowd of fellow students, pointing wildly behind him as a point of reference for those who got offended with his actions. Fred and George easily weaved their way through the crowd as well, the younger students quickly making way for the upperclassmen.

They would have kept going through the entire castle like this if not for a strong hand on the scruff of either of the twins’ necks, stopping them in their path of revenge. “Might I ask why you two are running through this school like a couple of raving barbarians?” Fred and George looked at each other with eyes wide before looking up at Severus.

“Erm…”

“We have a reason-“

“But it’s not a very good one in retrospect.” Fred finished, grimacing as Severus glowered down at him. Harry had stopped at the end of the hallway, having been able to bypass his guardian and now wonder whether the twins had fallen into the trap. He smirked when he realized it was so and he slowly moved towards the trio as Severus continued to try and find a response out of the third years.

“…even if it is not a good reason, I would rather have _a_ reason rather than none at all.” Severus told them as though they were particularly dense. Harry was right behind Severus now, grinning from ear to ear in mischief.

“Well… you see, sir-“

“Er, Hogwarts Heir.”

“We found out that Harry had Marauder blood in him-“

“And since we’ve known him for so long we thought-“

“Well, assumed would be a better word-“

“Ah, that’s true. We assumed that he would have told us such things before now.”

“So we were going to give him our response-“

“To how saddened we were that he decided to keep such knowledge from us.” George finished, shrugging weakly.

“It’s really all Harry’s fault.” Fred summarized.

“Oi!” Harry stated with a frown on his face as he came out from behind Severus. “It’s not my fault. You never asked.” Severus looked at all three of them with a withering look before glancing skyward as if wondering which deity it was who gave him such insolence to deal with.

“This school is a place of learning. Not a playground. If you want to run, you will do so outside where you will not harm anyone. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Hogwarts Heir.”

“Yes, sir.” The three of them said, looking down.

“Good. Now get on to the Feast. Also, ten points from Gryffindor and five from Slytherin for causing such a ruckus this early in the term.” Severus looked slightly pale as he walked away, readjusting his robes as he strode towards the Great Hall. He was only a month into his ten-month pregnancy, but the man was already beginning the symptoms that would spell out a long period. He’d raced from a staff meeting that very morning to throw up and honestly, the breakfast did not taste better coming up. He shook himself of these thoughts.

The Slytherin side of the school were ecstatic that their former Head of House had returned, though under very different circumstances as when he had first arrived. All of the others treated the news with a mixture of emotions. The Gryffindors groaned and said that the school would become a Dark Arts warehouse under Snape’s rule. The Ravenclaws were interested in the history of it all and were excited to learn exactly why Severus was to return and would now take the place of the Headmaster. The Hufflepuffs were wary, but otherwise interested in how the school would now run.

Students milled at the open doorway, some confused shouts reaching Severus’s ears as they took in the new floor-plan. No longer were there four long tables, instead the tables were slightly smaller and turned towards each other in three circles, all of them increasing in size and with plenty of room to move in between them. The Head table still sat in the front, the teachers already sitting down as though the change was no great difference to how things had been before. Minerva even went so far as to pick at her nails from her seat, obviously waiting for dinner to begin with clear boredom on her face. Hagrid was the only one who seemed nervous, glancing around at the students as if waiting for something terrible to happen. The newest Defense teacher, who was to replace Quirrel after it was revealed that the man had part of the soul of Voldemort attached to his cranium, had yet to arrive. Severus was already seated at the former Headmaster’s seat, the crown of Hogwarts Heir perched across his forehead. Harry was the first to walk out, shrugging his shoulders with an innocent air as he went to the middle of the circle through the opening and sat at one of the inner tables. He smiled blithely as other students slowly walked in, circling around until finding a seat that they could work with. The seventh years directed the younger ones of their houses to the inner circles while the older ones took the outer circle for themselves.  The Slytherins and Ravenclaws had no problem sitting intermingled, and the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had no qualms being around each other, but there was still a clear divider between these two groups.

“You know, I don’t think this is so bad.” Harry said, glancing around at all of the students. “More unity this way.” He told Draco who sat beside him.

“I know, but it’s still a bit weird.” Draco relented, looking over his shoulders in wonder. Fred and George clearly loved the change, leaning over the table where they were, which was behind Harry and Draco and hissing,

“Hey!”

“Hey Harry!”

“Harry!”

“Harry!”

“Harry!”

“What?” Harry asked, amused.

“We can see you now.” Fred said in a low tone with his eyes wide as though he had never been able to before. “We’re close now.” He continued, grinning.

Ron Prewitt was clearly not taking the change well, trying to stick to a couple of boys who were also first year Gryffindors and not touch one of the Hufflepuffs who sat nearby. It was as though he was afraid his tie would change to yellow and black if he dared touch a Hufflepuff while in this new seating style. Harry rolled his eyes when he noted this and he wondered if Prewitt would just keep acting like this even though they were trying to move forward. He certainly hoped not, but it was clear what he hoped for wasn’t always what happened.

Severus stood after everyone had found their seats and the room fell silent as he looked at all of them in turn. “Welcome back.” He stated bluntly. Some of the students, mostly Slytherins, relaxed a bit. “If you were aware, the Staff and I have made a slight change to how this room is arranged. If you weren’t aware, you need to be and how are you not?” A few more students relaxed. “Either way, as the press and everyone else has probably made you aware of, I am Hogwarts Heir. What this change means for you is three things. First of all, I will not be taking back my former duties as Potions Master or as Head of Slytherin.” The Slytherin side of the room began to protest while the rest cheered. “Second, instead of preaching about house unity and bringing the school together, I am going to actually implement ways that will do that very thing. Beneath your plate you will find a name of a student. Slytherins, you already have yours so you don’t need to worry about this. This student will either be three years your senior or three years your junior. Seventh years, you fill in everyone else. These students will be your hypothetical siblings. They will help you in your times of need and show you around this maze of a castle.” Some of the older ones chuckled as they opened the sealed envelopes and read over the names of students. “The only reason Slytherins don’t have envelopes is that they already have someone like this. Everyone else is in a melting pot of possibilities. If you know this student already, find them, and talk to them. If you don’t, we have an owlrey. Use it.

“Finally, the new Defense teacher to take over for Professor Quirrel who sadly died.” His voice implied that he truly didn’t care that Quirrel had died. Severus took a slow breath, obviously wishing he didn’t have to say what came next. “Mister Sirius Black.” The name came out like poison on his tongue as Sirius came out and took his seat with a large smile planted on his face. Severus turned away from the podium and sat down at his seat as food appeared along the tables and the students began to eat. The man opened a small vial and quickly drank it before starting on his food. 


	17. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco race, Harry wraps Kaeasa up and Remus daydreams

_December 15 th, 1991_

The forest was beautiful in the late afternoon as Draco and Harry raced through the Forbidden Forest, neither of them scared of the idea of large monsters or creatures who could hurt them. “Come on, Harry, I’ve seen you run faster for dinner!” Draco mocked, grinning from ear to ear as his feet silently moved down the path faster than any human could. It definitely helped that the ground was covered with his element, the icy grass crackling beneath his boots.

Harry was taking slowly because he was out of his element, the cold freezing his powers and his element all in one. He knew once spring came around he would be the one leading the chase, but now he just tried to keep up. He wasn’t that far behind Draco, but his magic protested and he knew that Kaeasa was going to be angry with him tonight. It wasn’t as though he could handle the weather, but unless the Dark Elf would help him in some way to get some warmth to the ground so he could reach the roots, he was not going to get anything done in training.

Once they reached Afoiwia’s boundaries, Draco and Harry took a few moments to catch their breaths and for Harry to get the last few shivers out of him. Draco simply waited patiently, his face a clear grin at the prospect of doing training. He had a Fire Fae who would gladly warm him up if need be, but he wouldn’t need it since he worked primarily with ice anyway. The blonde’s eyes glinted with mischief as they gleamed with power. Harry chuckled and shivered a few more times before walking the other boy to the boundaries for Merrowmoor. “My god, Harry, you act like you aren’t wearing five layers of clothing.” Draco stated, readjusting the t-shirt he wore.

“Y-Y-You’re a prat. Y-You know I don’t do well in the cold. E-E-Especially since I can’t get to my element naturally.” Harry said, his shivers now making their way into his speech. Draco sent him a pitying look that turned into a smirk.

“Now you know how I feel every other season. Ta.” The ice faerie sprinted away into Merrowmoor and Harry shivered a few more times as he started towards his own training grounds. He walked to the trees that outlined Afoiwia, feeling his own excitement start to flicker in. While the trees fell asleep in the cold, they still lived and Harry used this to his advantage as he made his way into the forest and was immediately shrouded in darkness. He pushed aside the innate fear that he felt and he felt vines begin to stretch up his arms. He pushed them up towards what he presumed to be sunlight and they fell back down, smacking him in the face. He huffed and quickly took off his glasses, unable to see anything anyway and not wanting them to get broken. He stuffed them into his outer robe and lashed out another vine, this time to his left. It didn’t catch anything, to Harry’s great annoyance and increased fever now that he didn’t have his glasses on. He couldn’t see anything now.

He lashed out to his right and it didn’t catch. His breath accelerated as he lashed out again and again, wondering where the trees were that had once been around him. He could feel panic start to rise and Kaeasa quickly stated, “Harry. You know how to do this. Search out the trees that are here.” He pushed the panic down with a slight hiccup of breath and he shivered again as he fell to his knees. He pressed his hands down through the frost covered grass until he felt dirt beneath his hands. He tried to feel the life that still lingered in the forest around him. The vines began to creep up his arms again, ready to lash out at his command. Where was it? He could feel a slight flicker of energy at the edge of his mind, like a bug that refused to leave. He wasn’t sure if it was the life energy he was looking for, but he had to try at any rate.

He lashed out in that direction and suddenly the setting sun’s light came to him. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose and realized that he had wrapped Kaeasa in one of the vines. She glared at him and the vines immediately shriveled into black dust around her. “Sorry, Kaeasa.” He told her, bowing his head.

“You have been able to get out of this before, what happened?” She snapped.

“It’s cold. I can’t find the life energy as easily as I could earlier.” He explained, shrugging.

“Well, you need to _try harder_. Again.” He was immediately shrouded in darkness.

~

Remus sat in Moonlit, flicking to the next page in his book as he let his mind wander to his husband. It was ironic that the book that Remus read was the very one that Severus had given him when they first began this process. It was littered with notes in the margins from both of them since neither of them knew what to expect of this pregnancy and they both actively read. Thankfully Severus didn’t have to stay at Hogwarts at night, merely during the day when he filtered through the demands and needs of the students all while trying to put his own ideas into practice. The man’s nightstand was the support for a leaning tower of papers that held charts and doodles of what Severus and the Lady had come up with. Remus found it incredibly amusing when the Lady decided to leave herself only to Severus’s sight and it seemed like the dark haired man was talking to himself.

He looked back down at his book and settled in to read some more.

 _The first month after will be the most strenuous on your partner as his magic scrambles to adjust to having another magical entity siphon off of it. (_ Would this apply to Severus since he already has his magic siphoned off by the school?) _In addition, your partner’s magical core will strengthen to new abilities and accidental magic has been known to happen at this time._ (Is it the baby doing the accidental magic or me? This book doesn’t explain that very well.) _This will be one of the many times that your partner will need your emotional support as their magical scramble can leave them emotionally unstable._ (Isn’t that all of pregnancies?) _It should also be noted that unless your partner is experiencing severe pregnancy symptoms, sexual intercourse can still be a regular part of your relationship. (_ So, don’t go looking for another bed partner. Thanks, Severus, love you too.)

 _As for the baby, at this time the placenta, which will feed nutrients from your partner to the baby (_ No, really?) _and also transfers waste from the baby. The beginnings of a face will form with dark circles that will later become eyes. The throat, lower jaw and mouth also form during this time. Your baby is only about ¼ inch, or the size of a grain of rice! They have grown nearly 10,000 times their size since conception during this time._

Remus leaned back against the seat he was in and let his mind wander to what the baby might look like. He imagined a little boy with his hair but Severus’s pale complexion. His eyes would be sharp, but he couldn’t decide which one of them he wanted the child to have. Definitely lanky though, since both of his parents were on the taller side of things. He would be sharp-witted but also kind. And also know that he was loved unconditionally. A small smile formed on Remus’s face as he continued to imagine this, thinking of nothing in particular except for this daydream. As it stretched on, he noticed that the boy started to become a little girl. He wouldn’t mind having a little girl though, so he let the daydream shift in that direction.

She held the same sort of complexion as Severus, but her hair was darker than his. Her eyes would be kind and he liked to think she would have Remus’s eyes. She would be lean and lanky, again because of genetics not helping in that matter. She would have a strong laugh like both of her parents and probably love to help her mother (father?) with potions. She would be strong in her decisions and not take anyone’s word that she didn’t trust.

“Daydreaming again, Remus?” The lycanthrope smiled as he opened his eyes and looked up at his husband from where the other man stood.

“Yeah, sorry.” His tone suggested he wasn’t sorry at all. “Just imagining what the baby will look like.”

“Oh?” Severus inquired as he took a seat beside Remus and scanned the page of the book that Remus was reading. “The child doesn’t have any defining features yet.”

“It’s still nice to daydream though.” Remus told him, shrugging. Severus hummed as he turned around and leaned his back against Remus’s shoulder. They stayed in that position for a while, both of them lost in their thoughts, until Severus’s breath slowed enough to signal that he had fallen asleep. Remus chuckled as he turned as well, pulling Severus into his embrace and Summoning a blanket from the chair across the room and laying it over them as he also was welcomed into the land of dreams. 


	18. Christmas Time is Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius dresses up, Lucius is a bit devilish, and Severus is in a state of shock

_December 25 th, 1991_

“Merry Christmas, everybody!” Harry called as he, Severus and Remus walked into Malfoy Manor. It seemed off that they would start the term at the month of December, especially since they needed to allow students who wanted to leave to go home. But, that was the way that the schedule managed to align. Harry had bypassed the paper that went around asking if anyone wanted to go home, having no need to since he always loved spending time with his Papa and Mister Sev.

“Merry Kistmas! Merry Kistmas!” Callie echoed, running down the staircase at full speed and barreling into Harry. The eleven year old took it in stride, trying to swing her up but ultimately just making a small half arch in the air before setting her back down. Callie’s feet bumped against the floor and the little girl giggled before running off to find more mischief and most likely her presents.

“Harry!” Draco bellowed, running down the stairs and straight into his best friend. Harry didn’t stand a chance this time, instead falling back onto the tile with a large grin planted on his face and Draco on top of him. The boys wrestled for a time before they could both stand up and realized that the adults had long since adjourned into the sitting room. “Merry Christmas, mi carissime.” Draco told him, smiling. A familiar spout of joy came through Harry as he gave a half grin.

“Merry Christmas.” Harry told him, smiling as they went through into the sitting room and saw everyone was in attendance. Lucius had Callie sitting in his lap, Remus and Severus sat beside them, Romulus and Augusta beside those two and Neville grinning at everyone. The three boys piled together onto one of the last couches as the fireplace roared green and Sirius stumbled out to join the merriment. “’Ey, everyone!” He said, grinning as he moved his bag of gifts to be underneath the large Christmas tree beside him. Remus had almost immediately invited the ex-inmate to the Christmas festivities, knowing that no one would object since Sirius was quickly making his way back into the fray of things.

Callie, who was inquisitive for a two-nearly-three year old, constantly asked Lucius about Sirius since their first meeting. It was as if she had immediately made a bond with the other man that would not be denied for anything and she thought that Lucius held all the answers to her questions like what Sirius’s favourite colour was and whether he liked chocolate or strawberry. Lucius honestly didn’t know the point to all of the inquiries, but he still gave the answers as best he could. Sirius’s favourite colour was as vibrant a red as the colour spectrum had and he liked both but had a penchant for strawberry. When Lucius realized he still remember all of this, he had to leave the room for a few moments to collect himself before Callie asked anything else.

Sirius was welcomed with a loud “Mista Sir’us!” and several other greetings as he found a seat on the arm of the chair where Lucius sat. Callie made the transfer effortlessly to Sirius’s knee, bouncing herself with her dark curls jumping in time. “Guess what!” She told him.

“What?” Sirius asked animatedly.

“Fat’a Kistmas is coming! He’s gonna bring all of ‘de presen’s. You must of not gotten ‘de memo.” The adults in the room laughed at Callie’s wary look to Sirius’s bag of gifts.

“Oh, I got the memo. Me and Father Christmas know each other really well. He just told me to bring my own since his bag was too heavy.” Sirius told her effortlessly, grinning when she looked at him with eyes wide with shock.

“Really?”

“Mmhmm.” Was it wrong that he was so happy that she was so shocked at the idea of him knowing Father Christmas? He thought not. “In fact,” He leaned in as close as he could as though he were telling her a secret. “He told me that you’ve been a very good little girl this year and you’ll get lots of presents.” She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth in glee. Only the adults were in on the fact that Sirius had agreed to dress up as Father Christmas and that the bag of presents he was alluding to was hidden in one of the many closets of the Manor. Not even the Hogwarts age children knew, though they knew that at least one of the adults was dressing up this year. They had reached the age where Father Christmas no longer held that magical place in their heart, but they liked helping make it special for Callie.

Romulus chuckled as he got up from where he sat and went over to Sirius as he wove tales of midnight joy rides with Father Christmas. “How are you doing Sirius?” The slightly younger man questioned as he leaned against the side of the chair.

“Doing absolutely fine, Rom. How did New York treat you?”

“Made me realize some things about myself and some people around me.” Romulus told him, smirking. Sirius huffed and leaned back against the edge of the chair from where he sat on the arm. The glint in both of their eyes made Lucius, who was beside the conversation, get a boiling in his chest that did not settle quite right.

“Oh, really? What kind of things?” It was just some harmless flirting on Sirius’s part. While he enjoyed Romulus’s friendship, he had known the man through Remus and since then the two of them had a decent relationship, he had never thought of the other man as anything more than a person who he could enjoy being around. Lucius grit his teeth together.

“Eh, nothing major that I didn’t already know.” The smirk on Romulus’s face grew and the look he sent Sirius then to Remus made Sirius laugh.

“D’you realize you’ve got your twin’s inclination to the less fairer of the sexes?” Sirius asked.

“No, more that I wouldn’t mind it half as much as some people. I still enjoy the fairer side of the sexes, just wouldn’t mind them either. Well, it has to be a certain someone.” Romulus huffed again as Sirius roared in his laughter, obviously holding in laughter as well. It was harmless flirting for him as well, considering he hadn’t thought of having anyone again since Summer, but it had been years since they had seen each other and didn’t he deserve some happiness?

“Well, welcome to the land of bicuriosity. Please enjoy your visit and if you’d prefer to stick around, please let either sex know.” Sirius joked, grinning at the man. “Or you could go to the land of rainbows and flaming homosexuality, which is beautiful in any season. Or you might go down any path of sexuality.” 

Romulus huffed again and patted Sirius on the shoulder, “I’ll let you know.” He went back over to where he had been before, deciding to strike up a conversation with his less-indecisively-gay twin.

“I’m going to the loo.” Sirius decided, apparently out of the blue as he transferred Callie off of his lap and left the room. Only the adults knew that he would be changing into the Father Christmas costume. Lucius turned his attention to Romulus, who was leaning obscenely over Severus so that he could get to Remus, to Severus’s clear annoyance and Remus’s amusement.

“Oi, Romulus.” The politician snapped. Romulus tilted his head back to see him.

“Yeah?” Lucius covered Callie’s ears so that he wouldn’t have to censor himself. The Hogwarts age children leaned forward in interest.

“Stay the hell away from him.” Romulus’s eyes went wide. “He’s mine.” Lucius gritted out, glaring with his silver eyes glinting in anger.

“I didn’t realize you had staked a claim on him.” Romulus told him as he sat up and gave Lucius an odd look.

“I have. Just not quite yet in this context.” Lucius stated, running out of steam at Romulus’s clear confusion instead of rebuttal.

“Merry Christmas!” Sirius called in a booming voice, striding into the room with a large bag of presents slung over his shoulder.

“Merry Christmas.” The adults and students echoed, the tension from Lucius’s odd demand fluttering away as they took in Sirius’s appearance. He had gone all out with a full red ensemble, white fur lining the front of the robes and the edges. A large white bushy beard protruded from his face and a jaunty red cap was settled on the top of his head.

“Fata Kistmas!” Callie cried, jumping off of Lucius’s lap and running full force into “Father Christmas’s” legs. Sirius laughed merrily, making it sound very close to the character that he was trying to play. He swung her up onto his hip as the bag fell with a thud onto the hardwood floor. The Hogwarts students perked up slightly, though Draco tried to be less obvious about it than Neville and Harry and failed miserably.

Sirius sat in the chair that Romulus had vacated and Summoned the bag of presents from where he had dropped it while he settled the two year old on his lap. “Well, Callie, I hear that you have been a very good girl this year.” Sirius said in a much lower voice than his regular one, obviously trying to fight a smile.

“Uh-huh. I payed nice with my brovur Daco, I let Fata do his work, I heped Unka Sevus in the lab, I heped Unka Emus at Good Cuppa, I was good in my Rekeption class and I only asted for fie toys this year instead of six.” She listed, ignoring her many temper tantrums that had sent her to the floor in tears and her straight over her father’s knee to learn her lesson.

“Oooh, I see. Well, I think you have been a very good girl indeed, so…” He opened his bag and procured a brightly wrapped present and set it in her lap. “Merry Christmas, Callie.”

“Merry Kistmas, Fata Kistmas.” She told him, hopping off his lap and settling on the rug, tearing into the present with gusto and squealing as with a wave of Sirius’s hand her stocking filled and presents appeared beneath the tree.

“Who’s next? I think you should come, Harry!” Sirius said joyfully, motioning for Harry to come over. The Slytherin was hesitant but after several jeers from his friends and some meaningful looks, Harry trotted over and sat on Sirius’s knee, face flush. “So tell me Harry, do you think you’ve been good this year?”

“A saint more like.” Draco muttered with a smirk to Neville. “How he got into Slytherin I’ll never know.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been pretty good, Father Christmas.” Harry told Sirius, blatantly ignoring Draco’s rather loud mutterings. “I helped my Papa in the shop, Mister Sev in the labs when he needed me to, took care of Callie every once in a while and kept up in my studies.” That last part he obviously had to think through for a few moments before nodding.

“Ah! Well then, here you go, Harry.” Sirius collected a gift for Harry and shuffled him off before motioning to the other two boys. “Come on then, boys.” He said as Harry’s emerald stocking filled and his presents joined the ones that Callie had yet to get to. “Which one?” Neville and Draco turned to each other and quickly played Seeker-Bludger-Snitch.

“Damn.” Draco cursed as he lost. He quickly got up and avoided his father’s swat at using the curse word in front of Callie before sitting on the edge of Sirius’s knee. He squirmed for a bit, obviously trying to look dignified whilst doing so, but ultimately lost.

“Alright, Draco, I already know you’ll lie to me and say you were good even though you weren’t, so why waste your breath. Here you go.” He handed off the gift to Draco, who grinned unapologetically and went back to where he was before. Neville got up in the midst of giggles and sat down on Sirius’s knee with only a slight flush to his face.

“Alright, here’s something interesting. Have you been good?” Sirius questioned as Draco’s stocking filled and his presents joined the others.

“Yes, sir.” Neville told him.

“Good enough for me.” He gave the gift to Neville and motioned towards the tree as his presents appeared and his stocking filled. “Next?” Severus got up and left the room. “Come on, Moon-I mean, Remus. Come sit on ole Father Christmas’s lap.” Sirius said with a large grin. Remus huffed and rolled his eyes but complied either way. “Well, you’re a Marauder, so I won’t expect you to be good. You’ve kept Sniv- I mean, your husband in line?”

“Yes, sir.” Remus said with an unapologetic smirk.

“Good. Someone needs to. Here ya go.” He passed off the present and Remus chuckled as he looked at it and went back to his seat. Callie squealed as she opened one of the presents and quickly hugged the overly large wolf plushie with all of her might. A couple of presents joined the others and Remus’s stocking filled as well as Severus’s.

“Next? What about you, Lucius?” The Malfoy patriarch, who had before been watching his daughter open presents with a half-smile adorning his face at her glee, looked up and gave Sirius a blank look.

“No, Father Christmas.” He said, looking back to Callie. The little girl looked away from her plushie and gave him a disappointed look.

“But Fata, you won’t get any pesents if you don’t.” She said innocently. “Go see Fata Kistmas. Go.” She demanded, pointing at Sirius with her face firm. Sirius patted his knee with a large grin on his face. Lucius glared at him before deciding he would get a bit of payback for Sirius’s very blatant flirting earlier. He strode up to Sirius and sat himself primly on the other man’s knee.

“So, Lucius, have you been good this year?” The man honestly seemed to think about this for a few moments before deciding to answer differently than what was obviously expected.

“No.” Callie was too wrapped up in unwrapping her presents and Draco was too interested in the _Advanced Potions Kit_ that he had been given to notice their father’s antics. “I’ve been absolutely devilish.” Sirius’s eyes widened to comical proportions and both of the Lupin twins’ jaws dropped.

“Oh really?” Sirius caught his composure and he kept his gaze locked on Lucius’s as he added, “So, you wouldn’t be on my nice list then?”

“No, I suppose I’ve been too naughty to be on that particular list.” Lucius drawled, smirking as each syllable he said dripped from his lips like honey.

 _Fuck me dry._ “Hmm, I still have a gift for you though, so I suppose I’ll have to let that one pass this year. Just try harder.” Sirius told him, his voice going hoarse.

“I’ll be an angel.” Lucius cooed before taking the present and striding back to his seat, clearly satisfied with himself. Remus and Romulus looked to each other, then to Sirius, then back at each other, before shaking their heads and going back to their presents. Father Christmas gave a very dramatic leaving, saying that he wished that Sirius could have been there for this and that perhaps he would catch him on the way out, before striding out of the room.

Sirius and Severus reemerged after a few minutes and Severus’s presents appeared by the tree. Callie quickly collected them and ran them to where Severus had sat with Remus sitting right beside him. “Thank you, Callie, but I could have gotten them myself.” Severus told her kindly.

“I know. I didn’t want the babies to get hurt. See you in a while, babies.” She said, grinning. “How long until they come?”

“About eight more months.” Remus answered since Severus had gone into a state of shock. Callie seemed satisfied with this answer and quickly went back to her presents. “She’s two years old, Severus, and she still can’t talk well. It was probably just a slip of the tongue.” Remus told his husband.

“I could understand it once, but _twice_?”

“She said ‘Fata Kistmas’ at least five.” Remus rebutted.

“I… alright, but we still need to bring it up with Healer Boyd at the next appointment.”

“Alright, but you have nothing to worry about, love.” 


	19. Huh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words are used, discoveries are made and perhaps a psychic is in our midst.

_January 13 th, 1992_

“Huh.” It was a simple phrase, one that was uttered hundreds if not thousands a time a day by people all over the world. Probably much more than that. But to hear that simple word escape his Healer’s lips made Severus’s eyes go impossibly wide. He looked at the small globe, a mixture of blues and purples and two small figures that actually looked like something within, which was levitating carefully above his womb. He couldn’t see anything wrong with it, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something. He could feel his heart accelerating as he thought of all of the things that could be wrong and the machine beside him registered that. His heartbeat could be heard echoing through the light blue room.

“What do you mean ‘Huh’?” He asked tersely, feeling Remus grasp his hand a bit tighter. This was one of the Healer’s appointments that both of them were finally able to get to together and Remus was taking it in stride.

“It’s just rather interesting to me.” Severus’s shackles were on the rise and it was clear that Healer Boyd’s incredibly calm attitude was doing nothing for his nerves. The machine was wailing as his heartbeat went faster.

“What is interesting?” Remus asked calmly, rubbing circles into Severus’s forearm with his thumb to try and calm him down. 

“Well, you see that little figure right there?” The Healer asked, pointing to the small figure that seemed to be tucked down into itself. “And you see that little figure right there?” Another figure was a mirror reflection of the first, upside down. “From what I’m reading, you two are having twins.” Severus’s jaw dropped and Remus’s eyes went comically wide. “Congratulations.” Severus turned to Remus as the small globe was transfigured into a piece of paper. Healer Boyd left the room to make another copy of it for their records, which gave Severus time to make his feelings on this known.

“Stupid. Super. Werewolf. Sperm!” He ranted, hitting Remus in the arm repeatedly. He would have hit him higher up no doubt, but he was still lying down and trying to move so that he could get to him better. “Twins! Fucking twins! Twins!” With each statement of that word, it seemed that Severus lost his ability to breath and properly function. “Twins. Dear god, twins.”

“We might need to warn Lucius that he has a psychic on his hands.” Remus joked lightly. Healer Boyd came back in as he yelped, “OW!”

“Not funny!” Severus yelled. He heaved as Healer Boyd handed them a copy of the picture of their child, now children, and he stared down at it. “Twins.” He whispered. “They still just look like little blobs, even close up.” He stated, continuing to look at the picture with shock clear on his face.

“Fetuses tend to look like that until the later months, Mister Lupin-Snape.” Healer Boyd stated, smiling at them warmly. “This is an incredibly rare occurrence. Multiples for male pregnancies are nearly unheard of.”

“But not impossible.” Severus stated, still looking down at the picture as though it would hold all of the answers. He felt Remus’s hand on his shoulder and he glanced up at the other man. Remus gave him a large grin, and Severus huffed as he practically _felt_ his mate’s glee at the news. “You’re really stuck now.” Severus snarked, smirking as Remus leaned forward and pressed a large kiss to his forehead.

“I was stuck from the moment I saw you again. You know that.” Remus said joyfully, rubbing his nose against the back of Severus’s ear and causing a chuckle to come from him. “Twins.” It sounded so different when Remus said it. When Remus said it, it sounded like it was a prayer come true, a dream in reality, something that could not be explained but was so beautiful in the knowledge that it was there. Severus could hear the smile in Remus’s voice and he was able to calm down his panic. He reached a hand up and wrapped it in Remus’s hair, running through it gently. A half smile adorned his face as he slid off the table and began to search for his clothes. Healer Boyd left the room as Severus slid the hospital gown off of his frame and went to the chair where he saw the clothes, grateful that he would no longer be in just his pants. They flew across the room and into Remus’s hands, to Severus’s slight confusion.

Severus turned around smoothly, giving his husband a wary look. The werewolf’s gaze was solely on him and his slightly larger womb. There was a definition to it now, especially since he was so lithe in frame anyway. “Can you please give me my clothes back?” He asked, stepping forward.

“Sure.” He made no motion to move or return the clothes. Severus gave him another tired look as he stepped forward and invaded Remus’s personal space easily. He leaned his entire frame over his husband’s, letting some of the skin that was exposed brush against his front. He heard Remus’s breathe hitch and he smirked as he moved even closer, enough so that almost all of his frame was pressed against the werewolf’s. He snatched his clothes back with a brush of his lips against the man’s neck and he quickly donned them before the werewolf could get them back.

As soon as he shrugged on his robes, his husband was pressed against his back, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him flush against him. A low growl escaped Remus’s lips which caused Severus’s toes to curl inside of his shoes in delight. “Gods, I love you. I love you more than anything.” Remus said against his neck, nudging aside the collar and nipping at his skin.

“We need to go.” Severus groaned out, “Healer Boyd will be here any moment and I’d rather not give her an eyeful.”

“You have to admit, she does seem to know what she’s doing.” Remus murmured, still not making any move to release Severus from his grasp. Rather he tightened it and licked lazily at the slightly red mark he produced. Severus made a small sound of affirmation, though he fought it off and quickly turned around, facing his husband.

“We need to go. I am not giving a fifty six year old woman a glance at my arse. I barely like doing it for you.” Remus huffed as he smacked him on the place stated. Severus yipped and quickly moved forward, biting hard on the area behind his lover’s ear in retaliation.

“Bad wolf.” He muttered.

“All the better to devour you as.” Severus groaned, wrapping his arms loosely around Remus’s neck.

“That was terrible. We still need to get out of here.”

“How long do we have until you have to get back to the school?” Remus asked, slowly walking them back until Severus was against the wall.

“I have a meeting with some of the governors of the school at two.” Severus groaned out, his upper half slumping back as Remus nuzzled against his neck. “They’re interested in what I’ve been implementing thus far.”

“I thought you only had a couple of things running.”

“Yes, but more’s to come.” Severus stated, “I still need to work on the house rivalry issues along with the problem of favouritism.”

“Severus, you were one of the prime examples of that.”

“Yes, but now I have no house to show favouritism towards since I’m supposed to be an equal party for all of the students- ugh.” He tilted his head more to the side to give his husband better access. “We need to get back to Moonlit if we’re going to continue doing this.” Severus stated, pushing him away after a few moments of pushing his hips forward, rubbing against Remus’s relentlessly.

“Alright.” Remus took Severus’s hand and both of them left the room as another couple entered with Healer Boyd in tow.

“Was that the Lupin-Snape guys?”

“Yeah, wonder what they’re doing here.”

“Probably here for a friend. I doubt either of them would get up the duff.”


	20. Birthdays of Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sev's birthday is not the best and Lucius's walls finally fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... SORRY! *throws candy, cake, ice lollies, cookies, and any other confectionery you like* College is a bitch and it's hard to keep up a successful story and keep my GPA at where it needs to be at the same time. Also, writer's block is an equal bitch. Though I finally got this chapter going and I'm getting better ^_^ So, take your candies and my sincerest apologies.

_January 20 th, 1992_

Cool hands slid over warm skin, slowly reviving Severus from the land of dreams. He hummed slightly as nips went across his neck and up to the spot behind his ear that was incredibly sensitive. A low chuckle came from behind him as Severus gave a low noise of interest, still half asleep. “Harry birthday, my mate.” Severus hummed in derision, turning over and looking at Remus with his eyes still half-lidded.

“You know I don’t care about my birthday.” His already low baritone was scratchy in his half-awake state, dragging over syllables slowly and tortuously. “And why did you wake me up this early, it’s Sunday.”

“I can still tell you happy birthday, can’t I?” Remus questioned with a lazy smile of his own. “And besides I know your habits and you would have woken up in about twenty minutes anyway.”

“Hmm, you seem to overestimate your own stamina if you woke me up for what I’m imagining you did.” Remus grinned and pressed a kiss to his lover’s neck.

“Minerva told me to not let you skip out on any birthday celebrations,” Another kiss was pressed to the spot behind his ear. “Any presents that might come,” Another to the edge of his hair line. “Or any enjoyment that you might get out of the two things I just mentioned.” Severus huffed as he fell back onto his back, letting Remus crawl to sit on one of his thighs. Severus’s slightly larger womb settled against his spine, having found equilibrium on that particular spot and on his bladder. He shifted to try and find a better position as the werewolf bent down and licked a stripe up the left side of his neck, using his nose to brush away the pieces of hair that were still wayward.

Severus gave a low sound, shifting again and wincing. “Get up.” Remus sucked the lower part of his husband’s earlobe. “Remus.” He gave a soft plea, pushing his husband away and rolling off the bed. He heard Remus oof as he fell onto his back on the bed, clearly having not expected the change in direction. The Potions Master caught Remus’s eyes flare yellow as he pushed the door of the loo closed and quickly went about his business. He hadn’t intended on the position of where their children currently sat interrupting his husband’s ministrations, but apparently that was to be so.

He washed his hands once he was through, cupping them and splashing water onto his face. He glanced up into the mirror and found himself counting every wrinkle around his lips and forehead. _Why does Remus desire this?_ He took the towel and quickly dried his face off and as he glanced over the slightly fuzzy fabric, he sucked in a breath.

His father stared back at him with the same dark eyes, a sneer on the man’s face as he looked his son over. Severus froze with the towel still in his hands, eyes wide. “Should have known you’d come out to be nothing but a broodmare.” Tobias sneered at him. Severus shook his head.

“I’m not a broodmare.” He muttered, trying to get the image to go away.

“And yet you gave up being an Auror for your precious little wolf?”

“I didn’t give up being an Auror for Remus. I gave up being an Auror because I’m Hogwarts Heir.” Severus rebutted, shaking his head again.

“You just needed an excuse. You knew that the wolf didn’t like his precious mate being in danger all of the time and you couldn’t say no to him.”

“I can say no to him fine.” Severus hissed, putting away the towel back on its ring.

“Right.” Tobias’s face turned back into his normal reflection as he left the bathroom and saw Remus sitting on the bed with one of the charts that he had worked on in his lap.

“What is this for?” Remus asked in curiosity, scooting over as Severus crawled back into bed.

“A project I’m working on.” Severus told him in minced words. “Does it matter?” Remus looked at him in alarm.

“No, I suppose not. I was just curious. Is that a bad thing?” Severus snatched the chart back and put it on his nightstand.

“No, though it is a bit irksome when something that obviously is not for peering eyes is peered at anyway.” Severus snapped. Remus frowned at him and sat up.

“Are you honestly this mad that I woke you up early? I was just trying to start your birthday off right for you.”

“No, I’m mad that you saw it necessary to go through the things on my nightstand.” Severus stated. Remus gritted his teeth.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that it was so important to you.” Remus growled, standing up and striding out of the room, his back straightened in annoyance. Severus got up as well, preparing for the day. He heard the footsteps of his husband behind him as he reached behind himself to button up his robes and the fumble of his fingers with Remus’s made him realize that the man was doing it instead. A cool hand brushed his hair away from the side of his neck and a chaste kiss was pressed to the joint of his neck and shoulder. Nothing was said as Severus moved away so that Remus could prepare for the day himself.

Even when they bickered, they were an effective team. By the time Remus had pulled on his other shoe, the smell of breakfast rippled from the kitchen. A post-owl brought the _Morning Prophet_ as Remus took over cooking and Severus went on a search for his boots. They ate together and Severus finally figured out where his boots were shortly after. He caught the straightening in Remus’s back as he finished reading an article on a new legislation for the policy for muggleborn children. “Let’s see, you were looking through the post so unwarranted news. The envelope doesn’t look like it’s made of parchment so muggle. Letter is on stationery and you obviously recognize the handwriting, so… mum?”

“You take those Sherlock Holmes books too seriously.” Severus smirked in agreement and turned the page in the _Prophet_. “And you’re right. My mum wants to see me. Or rather… us.” Severus looked up at him and his smirk dropped.

“Please tell me she knows that we’re married.”

“Oh, she knows. The Prophet’s coverage of that didn’t make it very easy to hide once that got out.”

“I thought we did rather well until whichever kid reporter caught us leaving the legal department that day.” Severus told him. Remus huffed.

“We didn’t do much to keep it conspicuous did we?”

“Short of shagging in public in all honesty.” Remus chuckled.

“Yeah, I was a bit heavy on doing my Moony eyes on you.” Severus raised a wry eyebrow.

“A bit heavy? Remus, you were practically undressing me with your eyes.” Remus chuckled and gave him an equally amused look.

“I still do. You just don’t notice half the time anymore.” Severus’s eyebrow rose and he shook his head as he took his plate to the sink and began to wash it.

“I’m a bit more perspective than that, I believe. What did your mother want then?”

“She just wanted to visit. You and her haven’t properly met and she hasn’t seen Harry since… well, since he was still with James and Lily I’d imagine. Not as her grandson at any rate.” Severus hummed and let his hand stray to his enlarged womb.

“She doesn’t know that I’m pregnant, does she?” Remus made a small sound and shook his head.

“I can’t exactly bring that kind of news up in a letter.” Severus hummed.

“You would try.” Remus huffed and got up, wrapping his arms around the other man’s waist and pulling him flush so that he was back to chest with him.

“Shut it.” He bent his head and nipped at Severus’s neck, sucking a bruise into the pale skin.

~

Lucius walked down Diagon Alley’s main road, his mind wandering as he waited for the recess to be over and he could get back to legislating, something he did best. As he passed Fortesque’s, he was suddenly pulled by the lapels of his robes into the darkness of the alley. He pressed the button in the palm of his hand to release his wand from its holster as his back met the frozen bricks behind him, ready for battle. Instead, he was suddenly kissed, sloppy and uncoordinated against his own. He was thrust into a memory.

_He had just finished for the day watching his father do what he did best, which was argue with those around him about legislation. He told his father that he wanted to get a quick snack from Fortesque’s and that he would meet him back at the Manor in mere minutes. That didn’t give him a lot of time to do half of the things he wanted to, but that was the best he had. He watched as Abraxas left the marketplace before he ran full force to the alley beside Fortesque’s and was immediately backed into a wall, sloppy kisses pressed against his lips. His hands delved into soft curls and he pulled on them enough that he could see Sirius’s bright eyes alit with mischief and life._

_“I believe you have a hair-pulling kink.” Lucius huffed and pressed a kiss to the younger man’s lips._

_“No, I just have a dominance kink. And I needed to tell you something. I don’t have long.” Sirius smirked then pouted._

_“Why didn’t you get yourself more time?”_

_“Because it’s hard to explain why I would spend almost an hour getting an ice lolly in February.” Sirius hummed in agreement._

_“Yeah, so I suppose we’ll have to be quick then.” Sirius grinned in mischief as he slowly sunk down, licking and suckling at Lucius’s neck and pushing aside robes-_

“Sirius, stop.” Lucius pressed his wand into the younger man’s neck and pushed him forward. “You can’t assault me like this and expect everything to be the way it used to be.” Sirius’s eyes became guarded. “I’m a father now. I’m a political figure who has significant influence over people.” Sirius’s back hit the wall and Lucius leaned over him. Neither of them could be seen in the darkness of the alley.

“You burn water.”

“I was not gifted in the culinary arts. And neither were you for that matter. You burned half the kitchen.” Lucius snapped.

“Yes, and you teased me for a week about it. But then I got that cookbook and at least I tried to learn.”

“I’m almost certain there is chocolate sauce in that one corner of the kitchen.”

“Yes and that was most fun we’ve ever had while having sex in the kitchen.” Sirius rebutted, shaking his head slightly to make his point more apparent. “How’s Cissa doing?” He sneered.

“Dead.” Lucius said shortly. Sirius’s eyes grew wide and he looked at the man in shock. They stood there for a few terse moments before the younger man asked,

“What?”

“She died, Sirius. In giving birth to Callie, she gave up her own life magic to be sure that Callie lived.” Lucius growled out, his breath wavering as he tried to keep his grief inward and disguised. He pushed off of the wall and started out of the alleyway before being pulled back against a firm chest. He rested the back of his head against Sirius’s shoulder and stumble-stepped back until he found himself in an oddly familiar flat with Sirius holding him close. His walls crumpled as his strength did and he cried out like a dying animal as both of them went to their knees. 


	21. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius remembers and Harry laments his boredom.

_January 28 th, 1992_

Sirius yawned as he sat back in his dark amber wingback chair, pulling his knees up onto the edge of the cushion and reading over another student’s essay. He would have preferred not to give out any essays at all, especially for his course, but there were simply some things he had to check on before he let the students go full force on dummies. He underlined one of the essay’s sentences, putting a question mark beside it and scribbling, _Pretty sure Wendlin the Weird used Fire-Freezing Charms, not Fire-Enhancing Charms. Actually read the text next time._

It annoyed him slightly that there were people who thought that he wouldn’t make a good Defense teacher merely because of his personality. Severus (it had gotten too hard for his mind to constantly fix Snape to Lupin-Snape and the Hogwarts Heir actually preferred that in private company) had clearly not liked the choice, but considering the man had been the one to sign off on his resume, he assumed that something made him change his mind. He’d put all the money he had in Gringott’s on Remus, but he wasn’t going to mention that to anyone.

He made a few more notes on the student’s essay, deciding that it had made an A- but honestly because it actually stayed on topic if not for a number of mistakes that made it impossible for him to give him an E. He put that one on the side table beside his chair, right beside the cup of whisky that he had been nursing. It was a small wonder that more teachers hadn’t turned to the bottle but he just used it as a relaxing tool than anything else. He knew his limits and he didn’t let them go beyond that especially when he was grading.

He never could have imagined that he and Severus could actually get on first name basis, but then again he never could have guessed that he and Lucius could get a chance to actually talk again. Sirius’s mind swiveled to that faithful day so long ago when his heart had been broken beyond repair.

_Sirius played with the bottle of wine in his hand, a grin planted on his face as he strode with purpose up the sidewalk of Malfoy Manor as though he owned the place. Tonight was the night he was going to lay everything on the table for Lucius, tell him that he could have hung the moon for all he cared. He wanted to spend every day with him, wake up with him every morning and kiss his lips every night. He wanted to feel that alabaster skin under his fingers and trace every inch._

_Once he got onto Malfoy grounds (Abraxas hadn’t checked the wards for a time and Lucius had managed to get his magical signature in), he Apparated to where Lucius’s room was, landing just outside. He grinned as he turned the bottle over his knuckles, catching it in a quick motion as he gave a half jump and moved forward. He opened his mouth and raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard Lucius’s voice. He grinned even more and pressed his ear to the door to see if he could get some blackmailing material from his lover’s very lips._

_“I vow…” Sirius’s face turned slightly curious, unsure of why Lucius’s voice sounded so strained. “I vow to continue the Malfoy line through…” Sirius’s face turned unsure as he continued to listen. Why did Lucius sound like he was on the brink of tears? “I vow to continue the Malfoy line through the Black family.” Sirius’s face turned shocked. He and Lucius had never even brought up the idea of having children. “In my marriage to...” Marriage? Damn, if Lucius was going to beat him to the punch… “In my marriage to Narcissa Lyra Black, I will have an heir to continue the Malfoy line.”_

_What?_

_“To the brink of death, I will fulfill this vow. So mote it be.” Sirius stutter-stepped away from the door, staring at it in shock. Married to Narcissa? Narcissa? He gasped on a breath as he dropped the bottle of wine, the glass shattering on the floor and red wine making his steps slick as he backed away. He couldn’t feel anything, his entire body as though it had shut down. He rammed his hip into the stair railing, barely feeling the pain as he Apparated away, choking on a sob._

Sirius picked up the whisky and threw it back, the alcohol burning on its way down. He could feel that phantom pain in his heart, eating away at the beat like a pulling shadow. He shook his head and looked down at the next student’s essay, wishing he could banish the fat tear drops that had fallen onto it.

~

Harry laid on his back in bed, lazily playing with a quill and twirling it over his knuckles. He didn’t have much to do at this precise moment, though that Transfiguration homework really needed to be done. He didn’t want to worry about that at the moment, he was more interested in thinking.

With Dumbledore gone and Severus in place at the school, things seemed to be going much smoother than they used to be. The new set-up of the Great Hall forced people to interact with the other houses and already there were new friendships being formed between other houses. There was nothing like his friends group just yet, but it was sure to come. The older ones were the ones that were having the most trouble with the new adjustment since their prejudices had been hardwired into them much longer than the first years.

Gryffindors and Slytherins still had the worst case of rivalry though they didn’t duel in the corridors anymore. Sirius’s method of Defense relied a lot on hands-on work, which made the class much more exciting and interesting than how Quirrel had done it. Sure they had book work that they had to do occasionally, but it wasn’t to the point that it was all they had to do. The things they learned were actually useful and interesting to the course.

It was times like these that Harry wished he had his keyboard. His boredom was reaching new heights and he didn’t enjoy it in the slightest. At least with his keyboard he could be playing or working on something to play or anything that didn’t involve him being this level of bored. Maybe he could go outside and do a bit of flying. Find Neville or Theo maybe. That could be fun.

He swung himself out of bed, rocking himself up and saw that Theo was lying in his own bed, a book perched up above his head as he read. Harry grinned as he walked over and threw himself over the other boy’s torso. Theo made an “oof” sound and the book fell, still open, on his face. Harry grinned.

“What do you want, Harry?” Theo asked with an annoyed grunt, taking the book off of his face and closing it as he looked down his nose at the other boy.

“I’m bored, you’re here, can we go flying?” Harry asked, eyes wide. He looked like an overly exuberant puppy with his bright green eyes flashing behind his glasses and his mouth half-open in hope. Theo thought this over for a few moments before smirking at Harry and chuckling,

“Yeah, okay.” Harry whooped in triumph, crawling off of Theo and running full speed to the door, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet in expectation.

“Harry, who gave you chocolate?” Theo asked as he put his book on his nightstand and gathered his wand and headed towards the door.

“No one, why?” The door closed behind them as Theo laughed, the sound reverberating off the stones. 


	22. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus gets annoyed, Remus gets embarrassed and Hope Lupin has absolutely no fucks to give except for when it comes to her boys.

_February 14 th, 1992_

“Remy!” A cry filled Good Cuppa as a frail woman entered the establishment. The woman had long flowing blonde hair, though almost a quarter of it had turned grey. She wore a long riding dress and her boots were of the same brown colour. The lace tops of her boot socks peeked out under her knobby knees and her bag went over the heavy peacoat that she removed and had placed on the three legged coat rack before going in search of her son. Remus emerged from the backroom, a half-smile adorning his face at the sight of his mother. Marlena watched all of this with a sense of mild interest, looking between the two.

Remus quickly wrapped his mother in a hug, letting out a small rush of air at her tight grip. She put him out at arm’s length and quickly looked him over. He wore an oatmeal coloured jumper and a pair of denims, matched with simple dragonhide boots. The boots had survived several years since their purchase; the main reason for their purchase in the first place. “Oh, you look so well, Remy.” She cooed, to Marlena’s obvious attempt not to laugh. The woman bit her lower lip, looking to the sky as if begging it to give her salvation.

“Thank you, Mum. You look good as well.” Remus complimented, giving his mother a tired smile. The woman hummed and quickly wrapped her son in a hug again.

“Now, where is this mysterious husband of yours? I’m so excited to meet him.” Remus glanced around, obviously trying to find his husband. Severus had promised that he would be there on time to meet Remus’s mother, but the foreboding man was nowhere in sight.

“I’m… not sure. He had a bit of business at the school but he told me that he would be here on time to meet you.” He said distractedly, continuing to look out of the glass windows in search of his husband. He hoped to see those flowing robes any moment, but at that particular instance he seemed to have disappeared.

“Well, I think we should get a bit of tea and we can catch up while we wait.” Remus’s mother hummed as she went to Marlena and asked, “Now, what here would you suggest, dear?”

“Well, my personal favourite for the chilly weather would be the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Apple Cider. It’s very warm and we actually put small bits of cinnamon in it that look like different animals.” Marlena stated, looking at the menu with Remus’s mother.

“Hmm, that sounds delightful. Remy, you came up with these all on your own?”

“Well, actually, Harry helped me a good bit as well when he was younger.”

“And this is your son? I would have liked to meet him before he went to Hogwarts.” Remus made a small face of sadness at the fact that he had left his mother so out of the loop.

“I know, it was just with everything that was going on it was a bit hard to get a hold of you.” Remus’s mother gave him a tired look and clearly did not believe him but instead picked up the cup that held her Apple Cider and took a delicate sip from it. Remus copied her, wishing desperately that his husband would get there soon.

The door flew open and a gust of cold air followed Severus as he practically sprinted into the room, closing the door behind him as an afterthought and making his way over to the table that Remus had found. Remus’s mother raised an eyebrow at Severus as he strode over to the table, black robes billowing impressively and the Hogwarts Heir crown still perched upon his head. He pressed a kiss to Remus’s cheek, though the man glowered at him promising sure revenge for causing such an awkward silence. Severus let out a quick breath, finally turning to face Remus’s mother. “I apologize for being late. The meeting I was in ran later than I expected. The contractor decided to not warn me of this and there was a problem with the wards and several other things occurred that I’m sure you’re not interested in. Severus Lupin-Snape, it is an honour to meet you ma’am.” Severus pulled out a fresh bouquet of flowers from the inside of his robe and both Remus’s and his mother’s eyebrows rose. “I know these don’t help much but I hope they can be an apologetic tool.”

 Remus’s mother gave Severus a long looking over, starting at the crown on his head and slowly working her eyes downward on her son’s husband’s frame. Severus stood stock still, glancing over at Remus every few moments in wonder. Remus’s mother pursed her lips in thought, letting her gaze flicker up to Severus’s face. She then leaned forward and collected the flowers, taking in a deep breath of them. “Hope Lupin, pleasure.” She nodded and her face became relaxed and friendly. Severus let out a slow breath and took the woman’s hand, shaking it as he went to sit down. Remus continued to glare wholeheartedly at his husband.

Severus leaned over as Hope took another sip of her cider and hissed, “I already apologized for being late. Can you please stop glaring at me as though you are trying to put a hole through my head?”

“You were late. Do you know how embarrassing it is telling your mother that your husband should be there in moments and he’s not?” Remus growled back.

“What else was I supposed to do, Remus? I already got angry with the contractor because he gave me the wrong times for the consultation and told him not to be sitting by his Floo waiting and I ran here as fast as I could. Do you know how difficult it is to get flowers in February?” Neither of them had raised their voices above an angry whisper to the amusement of Remus’s mother who was watching this with a half-smile on her face.

“Very, how did you get yours?” Remus demanded.

“From the greenhouses, Pomona’s going to kill me but it was worth it.” Severus stated, finally rising from his hunched over state and looking to Remus’s mother, “So, Mrs. Lupin, I imagine having Remus _and_ Romulus in the same house during their childhoods was difficult.” His voice became smooth and not growling in his attempt to keep quiet. Hope’s half-smile grew into a full smile.

“Oh yes, Remus was quite the troublemaker when he was growing up. He and Romulus always kept Lyall and me on our toes. And you can call me Hope, dear.” Severus nodded in understanding before a mischievous glint entered his eye that made Remus’s eyes go wide.

“I’ve always wondered what sorts of things he got up to as a child. Especially with Romulus by his side.” Severus wondered, bringing a spidery hand to his chin and resting his chin on the crook in between his index finger and his thumb. His platinum wedding band caught the light as he did this.

“Oh, the usual things. We lived in various places after…” Hope’s amused expression grew somber as she thought to the past. Remus made a slight face of worry and Severus’s hand dropped. Hope was silent for several moments before she continued, “After what happened, but we managed to stick together through it all. Remus was quite the little trooper for all the things he put up with, especially with his father’s obsession with finding anything to get a cure.” Remus’s face grew dark and withdrawn. He hated thinking about those nights when he was still a young boy, curled up in his room and whimpered as pain rocketed through him. His thirst for blood had him pounding on the door, something that should have sent all logical people away but his mother and brother had stayed firm, sitting on the other side of the door and whispering kind words through the cracks. His father had tried every sort of thing he could get his hands on to find a cure, wasting away so much time and money that left them nearly broke by the time everything was said and done. Remus remembered sitting by the entrance of the dining room, hearing his parents go over the numbers again and again just trying to make them come out to something different. Having twin boys was one of the toughest things on the family and Remus and Romulus had both tried as hard as they could to make themselves less of a burden.

Their parents hadn’t even noticed at first that both boys were aware of the truth of the matter. As Knuts and Sickles started randomly appearing in various places like in the back of trousers where fathers were certain they had been clean or in the pockets of dresses that mothers had sworn had only held gum before, both he and Romulus had felt rather proud of themselves for helping so much. But one night both of their parents had sat them down and told them that they didn’t have to help them and that money was a grown-up issue, not a little boy issue. Remus and Romulus just took it as a statement that they needed to be sneakier.

“…though one of my personal favourite memories, oh, I believe I have a picture of it.” Hope bent down underneath the table and collected her bag, quickly finding her wallet and pulling out a crumpled yellowing picture. It had obviously been in there several years, the corners water-stained and bent. Hope carefully unfolded it and spread it out on the oak table, playing with a corner and flattening it after a few moments. She turned it around with a half-smile adorning her face and Severus smirked as Remus’s face turned bright red.

“Mum!” Remus complained as Severus’s smirk grew wider. The picture showed a younger Remus and Romulus standing in the middle of a doorway somewhere, covered from head to toe in mud and completely starkers. The two boys grinned at the camera and younger-Remus waved with a carefree smile on his face, bits of dark mud falling off of his arm and hand and landed on the floor. Severus looked as though Christmas had come early while Remus was covering his face in his hands. Hope looked nostalgic, giving a small smile at the picture of her boys and gently tracing the border of the picture. The motherly affection that radiated from her face spoke to something in Severus, making him wonder if he would someday be the same.

Would he keep a picture of the twins who were within him on him every day until it became like the one before him? Forever holding a time when childish notions like running through the mud and getting dirty with your brother were logical? He wasn’t sure how he felt about that idea. He still had the latest ultrasound in his back pocket, folded with intense care and written in his spidery scrawl, _3 month ultrasound. February 14 th, 1991._ He had done the same with the first two and he planned to continue to do so. He realized with a small shock that he was already doing what Hope had done for her sons. Hope smiled slightly and took the picture back, carefully folding it into squares before putting it back in her wallet.

“So, what was it you wanted to tell me? You mentioned something in your letter back and I’m curious.” Hope told them, giving a half smile. Severus and Remus shared a glance between them before Severus did a Muffling Charm so that no one would hear this news.

Marlena watched with interest from where she stood in the pub as Severus slowly spoke, motioning with his hands and shifting so he could get something out of his pocket. All she heard was slight buzzing from that part of the shop. Hope seemed to be in shock, looking between Remus and Severus and scanning their faces for something. Severus put down a piece of paper on the table and unfolded it before turning it around and showing Hope. He continued speaking as she began speaking as well. Her speaking was rather frantic, her motioning to herself and then to Remus and then to Severus. Remus’s mouth quirked into a smile and he nodded a couple of times as Hope hopped up and hugged her son and Severus tightly from behind. Severus looked uncomfortable but looked up at her warmly while Remus was merely indulgently happy, giving a half smile as she continued to say something that looked like, “My boys, my boys.” 


	23. Hatchets Buried

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus is a very good Slytherin and Sirius is a very curious person. That always seems to get him into trouble...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIIIIVE! I'm so sorry about not being able to update this sooner, just so much stuff going on and all of that. On the bright side, I got a 3.46 GPA last semester! I hope that I can get back on a better writing schedule soon, but for now they might be erratic.

_March 19, 1992_

Sirius took in a slow breath, looking at the gargoyle that guarded Severus’s office. Apparently the heir had been resistant to the idea of taking the former bastard Headmaster’s office but eventually he had been reminded that it was only that. An office. Sirius shuffled in front of the gargoyle and stated with a sense of boredom, “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titallandus.” It wasn’t half as interesting as what Dumbledore would use as passwords, but Severus stated that he had no reason to change his password every two weeks and make his students wonder where he was half the time. Which Sirius understood. Had he ever gone to Dumbledore’s office except for that incident sixth year and for his multiple pranking antics? He had relied mostly on Minerva and even then he hadn’t seen her as his Head, more as a strict disciplinary that he respected and was also slightly scared of.

The gargoyle moved aside and Sirius jumped onto the moving stairs, holding his arms loosely behind his back. He knew that Severus could have very well already gone home since the man didn’t actually live on campus, but he was hoping that Severus was still in the midst of work for that secret project that he didn’t tell anyone about except himself. Sirius had caught him talking to himself outright as though there was someone right beside him. It was odd but it also led to some great blackmail material.

Once he got to the doorway to Severus’s office, he pushed the door without knocking, barging in as though he owned the place. His eyes widened when he took in the scene that was before him. Severus stood by his desk, a hand resting on the top of a just barely noticeable bump on his stomach and the other tipping back a potion. The man was obviously prepared to depart, a black leather accordion file case sitting on his desk and the fire roaring behind him.

The potion dribbled down from the corner of Severus’s lips and the man spluttered for a few moments at the sight of Sirius. “Black!” He cursed, coughing and leaning onto his desk until he could finally breathe again. He stared down at the mahogany desk for several moments and Sirius thought he might not be killed. Then Severus surged forward, holding his wand inches from Sirius’s neck. The man’s robes fluttered with the movement almost as an afterthought and Severus’s eyes flared brightly.

“Do not tell anyone of this.” He stated, gritting his teeth. “I’ve already used my eight hours though so I can’t put another charm on them.  Now, what do you want?” The Heir’s statements flew over Sirius’s head for a few moments and he nearly forgot what was happening. All he was aware of was that Severus’s wand was inches from his neck and he would most definitely use it if necessary.

“You’re pregnant?” That was also a thought that was going through his mind on rotation.

“Yes.” Severus said in the same tone as he had used to threaten him. “Now, _what do you want,_ you idiotic buffoon?”

“I was not aware that you were pregnant, how does that make me idiotic?” Sirius questioned.

“Fine.” Severus growled. “What do you want, you _ignorant_ buffoon? Doesn’t make me ask you another time or I will use several unpleasant charms on you. Half of which I recall you used very abundantly in our childhoods.” His voice became almost sickeningly sweet by the last statement and Sirius gave him a blank look.

“I apologized. Several times. What more do you want?” Severus seemed to think about this for a few moments before telling him,

“My confidence to not be shattered.”

“How is that my fault?” asked Sirius, his face reflecting his wonder very clearly.

“How would you like after almost eleven years of being called worthless, a mistake, a waste of space, and a useless pile of rubbish, you go to a school where you think you’ll be safe from that pain but instead, you get bullied by people who want to make your life hell? And there, you get to be called Snivellus, a greasy prat, a waste of space (you lost your chance on that one, my father already used it enough), a no good cheat, and a lying, conniving Slytherin piece of shit.” Sirius looked at him in shock. “The physical abuse I could take. I got that plenty. But verbal abuse never heals. Now. What do you want?”

“James and I didn’t know.” Sirius told him as he watched Severus go to his desk and shoulder on his bag.

“That doesn’t make it right.” Severus snapped.

“I know that.” Sirius growled out. “I can’t change what James and I did to you, alright? We were arseholes, prats, gits, everything we accused you of, we were in the living flesh. James was jealous because you got Lily’s friendship and he couldn’t get her to say hello to him while you got her hugs. I was… I was backing him up because I’d known him since we were in prams and nappies. It felt natural to go on his side. But that doesn’t make it right, I’m well aware of that. But for the love of Merlin, can we please let this go? I want to have a good relationship with you, Snape. Lupin-Snape. Whatever. But I can’t if you’re going to hold onto it.”

Severus stood there for a few moments, his hand resting on his slightly protruding stomach. It was very clear that he was pregnant now, the bump rounding out just within the man’s elbow while it was bent. His other hand went to his collar where his glasses hung by the earpiece. He slowly took them off and flicked them open and closed.

“Alright.” He said it so quietly that Sirius almost hadn’t heard him if not for the silence of the room. Fawkes preened her feathers beside Severus and she poked her head out to look at Sirius. “I forgive you. Honestly this time. I won’t bring it up anymore.” Sirius gave a wide grin and went forward, hugging Severus around the waist and making the Heir stiffen.

“We’re not that close.” He hissed. Sirius backed off with a grin still stuck on his face.

“Sorry.” He was clearly not sorry. “Anyway, I needed your help with something.” Sirius flung himself into a chair on the other side of the large mahogany desk and Severus sighed as he removed his shoulder bag and sat down.

“Alright, does this have anything to do with why you actually came here in the first place?” He questioned.

“Actually yes, before we got off on that topic of my being a horrible teenager.” Sirius waved off the subject before continuing, “As you are well aware of, or at least I would hope you are, I want Lucius again. And I wanted to know if you had any suggestions, hints, quid pro quos, etc.” Severus’s eyebrow rose and he settled back against his seat in thought.

“You honestly want to start being with Lucius?”

“More than anything in this entire world.” Sirius told him honestly. Severus leaned forward and a half smirk adorned his face. Sirius realized who he was talking to, a Slytherin to the core, and he leaned forward as well, a small grin making its way onto his face.

“Go through Callie.” Sirius gave him a slightly confused look. “Lucius would do anything to make Callie happy and that little girl is convinced that her father hung the moon. If you made it so that she didn’t want to be without you, and you made her realize that her father can’t be without you,” Sirius preened and Severus rolled his eyes, “Honestly, Lucius bitches about it more than I care to listen to it. But if you make her realize that, then she might pitch enough of a fit, and Lucius will see you enough, that something’s bound to happen.” Severus held his arms out and nodded.

Sirius gave him an awestruck look, “Gods, you Slytherins are brilliant! Must be why us Gryffindors can’t keep our hands off of you.” Severus huffed and his hand slid down to his womb.

“Preaching to the choir.” He then stood and shouldered on his bag again while Sirius turned to go back to his quarters.

“Thank you Severus.” Sirius said honestly as he faced the door.

“You’re welcome, Bla… Sirius.” Sirius heard the Floo activate and the Defense teacher grinned as he strode out of the office, his heart infinitely lighter and his mind whirling with ideas.


	24. Make-Up for Lost Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucius wanted to do something decidedly Gryffindorish, Sirius is a bit of a pushover and Callie really wants to practice with make-up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry that it's been so long! I've been doing so much stuff lately, it's mad and crazy. I've actually written an original work for Nano and that's exciting, but that also means I have another writing baby! So, game plan, I'm going to update this one to where I'm at because writer's block decided to bite me in the ass on this one. Oh, and for those interested, I got A's and B's for this semester! I'm still going to try and work on this story, I swear, but this story is still going to take a while before we get to the fun stuff because these characters want to go a grand total of wherever the fuck they want. So, there's that. Anyway, thanks for the continued support, this is getting really long, I'm a rambler. Yay! Oh, by the way, Lucius might be acting a bit OOC in this chapter, but remember that Callie basically has him on a string and he really wants her happiness above all else, especially with Narcissa gone.

_April 21 th, 1992_

The giggles that emanated within Malfoy Manor put warmth in the pit of Lucius’s heart but at the same time gave him wonder. This was the third weekend that Sirius Black had appeared at the Manor, insisting that he take Callie on some wild adventure or imagination fueled escapade. That particular night was clearly going to be one of the nights that it was the latter as a warm laugh came from the same source as the giggling.

The only question in Lucius’s mind was why. Why had Sirius suddenly changed his course from attempting to seduce Lucius back into a relationship and seemed far more interested in his daughter? Why was Draco writing to him saying that Defense was his favourite (and also best) class and that Professor Black was high on the list of favourite teachers? Why did it seem that all of his dinners with his daughter revolved around Mister Sirius this and Mister Sirius that? Why did he want to do something decidedly Gryffindorish and find out all of these questions from the one common denominator?

Lucius slowly went up to Callie’s room, his curiosity having gotten the better of him. He cracked open the stark white door and inside he found a sight that was both humorous and touching.

Sirius Black sat on his haunches in the middle of the white wood flooring, his eyes closed, fat curlers in his hair, and a half grin on his face. Callie stood in front of him, her left hand wielding a thin make-up brush and the other holding what Lucius guessed to be eyeshadow. She stuck her tongue out slightly as she swirled the make-up brush in the powder and carefully traced Sirius’s eyelid. She spread it out and touched it with the tip of her finger before going back to the palette to get more. She did the same with the other eyelid before stepping back.

“Mister Sir’us, I think you look bee-utiful.” She kissed her fingertips and made a vague motion towards Sirius as the man opened his eyes and laughed.

“I would only expect it from the greatest make-up artist in the world.” He began to undo the curlers in his hair as he stood, going to the vanity mirror over the dark mahogany chest of drawers. There, Lucius got the full extent of what his daughter had done.

Sirius’s bright grey eyes were framed by bright purple eyeshadow and his lashes seemed to be accented by blue mascara. Bright pink blush went from the apples of his cheeks down to the slight dimple at the corner of his mouth and his lips were painted vibrant red. Curls bounced out of the curlers and framed his face very nicely. A long chandelier earring hung from his one pierced ear, the diamonds shimmering in the light. Lucius desperately tried to keep his laughter inward, his entire body shaking in his desire to keep his presence unknown lest his daughter take it the wrong way.

Then his eyes caught Sirius’s in the mirror and a stupid grin came to Sirius’s face. His eyes were sparked with mischief and life and Lucius couldn’t help but smile back. He hid it behind a tightly clenched fist and he carefully composed himself before entering the room. “Callisto, you’re not causing too much trouble are you? That’s a very good look on you, Sirius.” Sirius gave an unapologetic shrug and pulled out the chandelier earring before setting it down along with the small collection of curlers that were on their side.

“I know, isn’t it?” A glint of mischief entered the man’s eye. “Callie, you have a bit of make-up left, don’t you?” Lucius’s eyes widened when he realized what Sirius was implying and he shook his head.

“Don’t pull me into this, Sirius.”

“Yeah! I do!” Callie’s head bounced up and her eyes grew wide. “Daddy?”  

“No, Callie. I don’t need any make-up.”

“But Daddy, I need two models! To make sure I do it right.”

“She needs two.”

“One is plenty. You did just fine on Mister Sirius.”

“But Daddy!”

“No, Callisto Tania.” The little girl began to whimper, her bright brown eyes filling with tears and her shoulders slumped. The eye-shadow palette and the make-up brush were held loosely in her hands. Lucius held firm, his arms going over his chest. “No.” Callie started to cry, her eyes shut tight and fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Come on, Lucius. Have a heart. It’s just a bit of make-up.” Sirius said, his eyes saddened at the sight of the little girl crying.

“I already told her no, Sirius.”

“You need to pick your battles. Is this one really worth seeing her crying?” Lucius winced as Callie sucked in a breath, her chest heaving as she continued to cry. “You can wash it off.” Sirius continued.

“Alright. Fine.” Callie immediately perked up and she ran forward, hugging Lucius around the waist and taking his wrist, pulling him to where Sirius formerly sat. “But nothing outrageous.”

“Of course not, Daddy.” Sirius grinned as he sat down beside Lucius. Lucius wondered what he had gotten himself into.

In the end, Lucius Malfoy got much of the same treatment as Sirius did, though his make-up was in tasteful greys and blacks. His blush was much tamer than Sirius’s and his lips were painted a pale pink instead of lively red. Callie smiled as she finished off the lipstick, her eyes bright with joy. “Alright, press your lips together and you’ll be done.” The three year old told him. Lucius did as she instructed, rolling his lips over each other until they were equally covered.

“How’s that?” asked Lucius.

“Perfect.” She responded, nodding her head. “I wish you had a pierced ear like Mister Sir’us.” Lucius was about to say that he did have somewhere pierced that wasn’t his ear, but he stopped himself since that would simply dissolve into a very uncomfortable conversation.

“I don’t think it would look as good as it does for Mister Sirius.” He stated, catching the other man’s large grin. Lucius gave a small smile as Callie shrugged.

“I guess.”

“Now then, it’s time for certain little girls to go to bed.” Callie looked around, obviously hoping to find another little girl who happened to be in the room. “That’s you, Callisto Tania.” The little girl sighed and pouted.

“But Daddy, I’m not done playing!”  

“Yes, I believe you are.” Lucius stood as Sirius did and the dark-haired man nodded.

“It’s time for sleep, little princess.” Sirius told her gently, taking out a set of pajamas from the chest of drawers and handing them off to Lucius. Callie continued to whine as her bright lilac dress was pulled over her head and was replaced with a blue polka-dot night gown.

“Could you stay the night?” Callie asked.

“I can’t, Callie. I have to be at the school in the morning for classes and I’m on breakfast duty.” Sirius told her.

“But Mister Sir’us, you could stay in one of the other rooms. Then go to the school before breakfast. Dobby won’t mind!” Lucius pulled down the covers and tucked the little girl into bed. She whined slightly and gave her father the biggest doe eyes she could make.

“Come now, little princess. No need for making the big eyes. I’ll see you at the end of the week, remember?” Sirius reminded her. She gave a slight sound as she turned onto her side, watching as the make-up palettes that were scattered on the floor were sent to the top of the chest of drawers in an orderly pile.

“It’s still a long time.” She muttered. Sirius gave her a small kiss on the forehead, trying to making sure the lipstick didn’t get on her but leaving a small mark on her forehead.

“It’ll go by before you know it.” He promised. Lucius also gave her a kiss on the forehead and he tucked her stuffed dragon in beside her. She gave him a stern look and the patriarch sighed as he leaned down and kissed the stuffed dragon’s forehead. She looked to Sirius, who looked slightly shocked but then went down for a large kiss to the fabric. A slightly red outline was left in its place. Callie grinned at him and Sirius chuckled as he affectionately ran a hand over her abundant black curls.

“Good night, little princess.”

“Good night, Callie.” The three year old pouted at the two of them as the light was turned off and the small globe at one corner of the room activated, spreading stars across the ceiling and a soft lullaby beginning to play.

Lucius left the door cracked and he started down the hallway, Sirius beside him with that ridiculous make-up still on. “I’ll get a wet rag.” Lucius decided as they went down the stairs, their footsteps in sync with each other’s.

“That would be appreciated.” Sirius told him, giving a wide grin, “Though you have to admit, I make a pretty gorgeous girl.”

“I prefer men to stay men and women to stay women.” Sirius made a face before going into the sitting room and splaying himself out on one of the couches. Lucius snapped his fingers and Dobby immediately came to his side. “A towel. Damp.” Dobby glanced to Sirius and he shook his head, quickly disappearing and then reappearing within a few moments with a dark ivory towel.

“Shall Dobby clean Master Black’s and Master’s faces?” Lucius debated this idea for a few moments before tilting his head to the side and shaking it.

“No. I’ll take care of it.” Lucius decided, taking the towel from the house elf and waving him away. Dobby disappeared with a _pop_ and the man went forward, stepping into the sitting room and watching as Sirius sat up. It was warm weather for the time of year and Sirius had dressed for the occasion. He wore light grey summer robes, the sleeves cut off at the three-quarters mark and little embellishment on them. The collar cut across his collarbone and exposed the skin to Lucius’s perusal. The politician swallowed shallowly before moving forward, pushing thoughts of sucking on that spot until he heard Sirius’s whimpers and demands to continue far from his mind.

He decided to settle on Sirius’s face, but he simply couldn’t look at it long. The man had the high cheekbones of a Black, something that Callie had inherited easily and the blush only highlighted this fact. His eyes were expressive and energetic, but there was something else there that gave Lucius pause. Behind the lively glow, there was mischief and excitement. What it was for, and what reasons, were beyond him.

“Your daughter really is a brilliant make-up artist. She just needs some practice.” Sirius told him as he sat on the cushion beside Sirius and started wiping away his daughter’s work.

“She’s a Malfoy, of course she is brilliant at it.” Lucius said with a toss of his head. Sirius huffed and leaned his face into the rag as it methodically went over his cheeks and down his strong jawline. “The practice will come undoubtedly from you giving up your face for her experimentation.” Sirius gave a half smile and shrugged.

“If she wants me to, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” He admitted. His hand then reached up and took the rag from Lucius’s grasp, turning it over and starting to cleanse the other man’s face from the make-up. The rag was slightly scratchy against his skin, but the care that Sirius put into ridding him of the cosmetics on his face was more than enough.

They exchanged the rag back and forth, after a time both of them having gotten rid of most of the make-up. They talked of mundane things, nothing of express importance. The gas lamps on the ends of the room illuminated both of them in an eerie yellow light. The waxing moon rose steadily as both of them turned on the small couch, Sirius sitting on his haunches again and Lucius bending one leg under the other.

Eventually, their topics shifted.

“…It’s astounding though how my students know so much but they’ve either been hiding it or are afraid of it.”

“They are most likely afraid of how they cannot control it.” Lucius hypothesized.

“That’s true, but that’s one of the main things that I have to teach. The two ideas of being afraid and being aware of how powerful a person is are two separate entities of understanding. And I have to try and tell an eleven year old that.” Sirius gave a look as though he could not imagine how to explain such things.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to. I have to give the same sort of speech to sixty and seventy year old men, it’s not exactly a merry holiday for me either.” Lucius reminded him as he took the rag back. The ornate clock on top of the dormant fireplace chimed nine times.

“Oh,” Sirius turned to the clock and his eyes widened marginally. “It really is getting late.” His voice softened and it was clear he was trying to apologize without actually saying anything. Lucius bit his lower lip and tasted a hint of the waxy texture of the lipstick that had been put there. Sirius turned to look at him.

His eyes reminded him of the glow of the sun on a rain cloud. The pale light from the glass lamps reflected in his light grey eyes and the spark that was still within them even after all of the tortures he had gone through. Lucius’s hand slowly moved forward, inquisitive as his hand gently cupped Sirius’s jaw. The man sat on his knees, barely breathing as he looked at Lucius in question.

“Luc--“ Sirius was cut off by his kiss.


	25. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus Dumbledore had plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I know this one is a short one, but this is just what I have for this chapter.

_April 30 th, 1992_

Albus Dumbledore had plans.

He stood on the balcony that overstretched the long expansive lake which separated the criminals from the civilized. Those who had no morals and those who knew right from wrong. Spring winds whipped across his clothing and forced his beard over his shoulders as he examined the sea below.

Harry Potter, for that was his name regardless of what his legal documents said otherwise, had slipped from his grasp. This much he could blame on his own miscalculations. But the failures of his plans, they all went back to one man.

Severus Snape had been on his radar since the boy was born, the charter glowing brightly mere moments after his birth. He had known about Severus’s status as Hogwarts Heir for several years, but his plans had continued on regardless. He needed to have that interaction with Lily Evans, to hold that double-standard for himself by the time he got to Hogwarts. The mixture of pureblood etiquette and morality being questioned had worked well for his favour, until it didn’t.

The “Circle”, as those within it had so affectionately called it, had been the precise opposite of what Dumbledore had wanted as an influence over Snape. They had taken him in immediately, sensing his power and his inquisitive nature from the moment the hat had cried “SLYTHERIN!” That ridiculous ritual of siblings within the house had only fostered a love that was unheard of. He should have gotten rid of it the moment he knew of it.

So many things he should have gotten rid of. He should have destroyed the bond between Lupin and Severus so that there would have been no chance of it fostering into the relationship that they now had. He should have destroyed the Slytherin House, merged it with the others and caused the undoubtedly fierce confusion among the students within it. The students stuck to their own, they would have been ostracized in the houses that they would have been displaced to. It would have destroyed that ridiculous notion of care within that atrocious house.

He should have killed Severus Snape the moment the charter had flared. That would have gotten rid of a majority of his problems. The man had thrown everything off track, given a place for Harry Potter to go whenever he should have stayed within the Dursley household. It would have gotten rid of those senses of rebellion and second-guessing. Harry would have followed Albus blindly by the time he got to Hogwarts through his careful movements.

He was behind now. The Daily Prophet had front page news about a “Student Commons” that was within the school now. It was a place similar to the Great Hall, but it held the structure of a common room that was open to all students. Parents’ quotes were ecstatic at the idea and many questioned why it hadn’t been made before. Severus had made a statement that it was something that the school needed and would bring the houses that much closer together without the physical limitations of the school.

A panorama picture of the new classroom showed high arching ceilings that were similar to the Great Hall in that it showed the beautiful spring day. Large plush chairs and tables throughout and were already being occupied by some students who were in the midst of conversation. House elves were walking among students, serving refreshments for the opening ceremony. Ghosts floated above and made small talk with the adults and students who were there. Governors for the school, along with Lucius Malfoy, were in a semi-circle around Severus, seeming to congratulate him on the success.

One of the pictures however had caught Dumbledore’s attention the most. With the caption, _Hogwarts Heir Severus Lupin-Snape with Callisto Malfoy enjoy the new renovations to Hogwarts_ , a picture depicted a little girl with flowing black hair and bright grey eyes giggling as she was lifted into the air by the man and settled on his hip. There was something off-putting though by how the girl’s legs were situated. One of her legs were around Severus’s back while the other seemed to be on a place in front of him, as though it were being held up by an invisible force.

The little girl then proceeded to _pat_ the air in front of Severus’s stomach and say something that Dumbledore could not register due to how her head was turned. Severus looked up at the camera with a dark look before giving a half-smile to the little girl and setting her back down as he said something. The girl gave a small look before the picture started again.

Dumbledore had examined that picture endlessly for hours on end, trying to decipher what Severus said. He glanced down at it again, waiting for the wind to die down as he watched Severus’s face only.

It flickered from slightly amused to shock to looking up at the camera with a look that promised a painful and swift end. He then looked to the girl and told her…

 _“Five months.”_ What was in five months? What was that child questioning that was going to be such an important thing that Severus clearly was ready to destroy those who looked at the picture?

What could it have been?


	26. Teasing and Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus and Remus discuss the future and Lucius decides that he will protect his own no matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memories of abuse ahead.

“They kicked.” It seemed as though every time something happened with the pregnancy, Severus was more than a little shocked. He acted as though he had never thought of how the children would sometimes shift in their sleep or how their magical cores would sometimes flare up and Severus would have random bursts of magic. Usually they were minor things like balls of light appearing on his shoulders or his left thumb would turn dark purple. Marlena had told them that this was a normal circumstance for pregnant witches and that when Charlotte was still in the womb she had times where her entire right foot, shoe and all, would be gone. She explained that she could still feel it, but it was odd looking down and “Oh, look, my foot isn’t there any longer.”

Remus glanced up from his novel and raised an eyebrow to the man, who was looking down at his larger womb (and if Remus hadn’t been loving every inch that had formed…) as though it were an alien being. His shirt was rucked up over his womb, the fabric wrinkled over it. “What, love?”

“One of them just kicked.” Severus looked over at Remus in wonder and then back down at his stomach, his hand resting gently on the mound. He seemed transfixed, his hand slowly moving over the smooth flesh until it stopped and his eyes widened briefly. “They…” He reached over across the sofa without taking his eyes away from his belly and moved his hand over Remus’s face, down his shoulder and arm until he finally found the werewolf’s hand and put it onto his stomach.  

Remus gave a half smile at the transfixed look on his husband’s face, clearly not expecting the sensation at any rate. “Yes, they have been known to do that.” He said calmly, smiling still even as his mate gave him a clearly not amused look.

“Oh, ha, ha. I haven’t gone insane, Remus, merely shocked,” explained Severus, his eyes inevitably drawn back to his stomach. “We still need to think of a nursery for them.” Remus gave a slight sound as he looked around the cottage, trying to think.

He knew that the cottage was going to be too small for their growing family. It had barely survived whenever Sirius had lived here for that brief moment in time, the conflicting personalities of Sirius and Severus together bringing problems beyond belief. Thankfully both of them had been able to move past their differences but not before some major changes were made.

However, now they had some serious problems to resolve. Two, to be precise, who were currently causing Severus’s face to be one of complete shock and awe. “Severus, they’re babies, of course they’re going to--" Then a small pressure came to the tips of his fingers. He gave Severus an awe struck look before he looked back at his hand. He knew that moments ago he had been teasing his husband about the shock that was apparent on the Potion Master’s face but now, he realized why. It was all real in that moment. In that precise moment, they were no longer figures on a piece of paper or figments of his imagination.

“You were saying?” Remus huffed as he rubbed at Severus’s stomach, smirking up at him.

“Alright, alright, I’m an arsehole.” Severus huffed and settled against the twead sofa that they sat on. The look on his face very clearly stated that he was well aware of this and Remus hit his thigh gently as he laid himself over Severus so that he could kiss at his stomach. “My beautiful children, my amazing Severus.” Remus scooted up so that he lay over the man and kiss him with a contented half-smile on his face. “We can look into a realtor for here in the morning, alright?” Severus nodded, giving a content look himself.

For the first time that he could think of, he was actually content with his life. He was in a job that wasn’t so tedious that he could cry, he had a husband who loved him endlessly, and his family was growing. These were all things that a few years ago, he never could have begun to imagine. His life was as drastically different from what he could have ever fantasized for it to be and he found that it was not a bad thing. He gently ran a hand through Remus’s hair, smirking when he saw that a few grey spots were developing.

“What, raising the Boy-Who-Lived give you a few grey hairs?” Severus asked in amusement. Remus huffed and laid over him even more so that his elbows bracketed Severus’s head. The Hogwarts Heir huffed as Remus began to run his hands through Severus’s hair in earnest, clearly trying to find a hair himself. “Oi, quit that.” Severus told him.

“I’m not the only one with grey hairs and you know it isn’t exclusively because of Harry.” He told him firmly. Severus chuckled and one of the babies kicked again.

“See, even the babies agree with me.” Remus said, pointing at Severus’s stomach with a grin. “Ow.”

~

_“Come on baby, let’s dance through the night._   
_Hit up those low Noxed lights_   
_Give me some time and show me the love_   
_Because you are callin’ me your precious dove.”_

_“Shut up, Bella!” Sirius pushed himself back into the cell, finding a corner as far away from the door as possible that he could find comfort. He pulled his shirt over his knees and wrapped his arms around his knees as well, just to add to some form of comfort and warmth that he was refused to have. He didn’t touch the bed, if it could even be called that. It was more like a cot with doxie-infested sheets and more memories than Sirius was willing to endure._

_He heard the sound of sharp heels against the stone and his stomach dropped. Most of the guards walked in a strict left-right-left-right step. But one, the one who caused him so much torture and pain, preferred left-left-left-right-left. Sirius shrunk further into himself, willing himself to disappear and that_ he _wouldn’t be coming near him. Go to some other cell, some other poor soul that he preferred to torture into insanity. He heard the jingle of the keychain and the steps stop right outside his door._

_“Please, no, please not today.” Sirius whimpered quietly, listening as each of the keys were sorted through with a metallic ping as they hit each other. Ping, ping, ping, ping._

_Left-right-left-right. No one cares about you today. Ping, ping, left-right-left-right, ping, ping. Each of the tumblers being pushed up, no one will save you, you killed those who ever cared. No one loves you._

“No, no, leave me alone!” Lucius was harshly awoken by the sound of Sirius crying out and kicking, thrashing in the bed as though he could will whatever nightmare he was having away. He had respected Sirius’s request to go slow, to not pressure him into anything. _“I want to, Lucius. But… I don’t. Do you understand?”_ He knew that the terrors that Sirius must have faced were great and numerous, terrifying for anyone with average sanity to endure for a few moments let alone eleven years. Sirius, after those few moments of confidence shortly after being released, was showing more and more signs of his own terrors there and Lucius had no clue as to how he was to proceed. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how.

“Sirius, Sirius, wake up.” Lucius knew the first thing he had to do was wake Sirius up. Perhaps showing him that he wasn’t in Azkaban, he was in Malfoy Manor with him in his main chambers, would startle him out of his fears. Sirius’s eyes blew wide whenever he awoke, looking at him as though he were the epitome of a nightmare. Lucius held both of his hands out so that Sirius could see there was no danger here. “Sirius?”

Sirius scrambled back, falling off the side of the bed as he ran to the corner of the room. Lucius gracefully went off the other side, not wanting to startle him but also knowing he needed his support in this. Sirius shrank back into the corner of the room, shaking and curling in on himself. He wrapped his arms around his raised knees and stared unseeingly out into the expansive chamber. Lucius went to his knees a few feet from Sirius, simply watching him.

They were silent for a time, the only sound coming from Sirius sniffling and making small noises that he didn’t seem aware that he was making at all. Lucius carefully moved forward, taking great measures to keep Sirius calm as he went.

He reached just a few inches from Sirius after several minutes of a stop-and-go style movement, inching forward and then stopping so that Sirius would not think that he was going to hurt him. Once their breath was intermingled, their knees slotted between each other’s, Sirius looked up at him in a way that broke his heart. He looked terrified but hopeful, his mischievous streak nowhere to be found in his grey eyes. Lucius moved slightly subconsciously and in a moment, the man was wrapped around him with small whimpers and sounds coming from him.

Lucius gently petted Sirius’s hair, looking out to the wall on the other side with a murderous gleam in his eye. He didn’t know all of what had occurred at Azkaban, but he would find out. Those responsible would pay grievously for this.

He protected his own.


	27. Duty Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guard for Dumbledore changes and Harry is stressing himself out even though he's eleven.

_May 10 th 1992_

_WIZENGAMOT ORDERS INVESTIGATION AT AZKABAN_

_By Eliza Beasley_

_In last week’s meeting at the Wizengamot, Lord Lucius Malfoy gave a new bill describing a new inspection programme in Azkaban. In this bill, he also gave the order for all officers who currently work at the prison to be inspected and questioned on their treatment of the inmates. Lord Malfoy’s statement was this: “Inmates at Azkaban are not wild animals that must be reduced to dogs. They are human beings just like the rest of us. No more, and most certainly no less.”_

_The decision was 34-6 in favour of the bill and it will be enacted on the 15 th of May._

“So when did you sign up for your inspection?” Linnis’s gaze shot up from the stone below his carefully polished shoes, his eyes wide. He hadn’t been on the Azkaban force for long, just enough that he had been taught the ropes and had gone through the hazing of the other guards. Many of the other guards had been here for years and they had become cold to the inmates and their needs. Linnis wished that he could help them, but there was little he could do in his small position.

“Hmm?” The grizzly guard with cheeks covered with a thick beard and eyes like harsh sapphires glared at him and Linnis shrunk slightly.

“When did you get your inspection? I’ve got mine for next Tuesday, figured get it over with. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Linnis nodded as they walked and he pulled his soft cotton jacket a bit closer around himself. The sleeves were a bit too big on him, but he was comfortable and it made him feel secure.

“Oh, I got mine for next Monday.” He didn’t like the idea of some Ministry official coming and watching him while he was here. He didn’t like having to throw gruel at the inmates and hit at their doors so that they knew that he was coming. Some of them still clung to his trousers, begging for a second chance. Some of them terrified him with their wild eyes and silence. “Why do you think that Lord Malfoy wanted the inspections done?”

“Probably something to do with his new little boy toy. You remember Black?” Linnis nodded shakily. “I’m sure he didn’t react too well to some of the shit he went through here, especially because of Matthews.” As if on cue, Albert Matthews turned the corner and walked towards them. Albert wasn’t bad looking, but he wasn’t particularly good looking either. He looked like he could have been in amateur porn at some point.

“Grain, Cole.” Linnis nodded and let his gaze go down to the ground again. “Oh, Grain, I need you to take Dumbledore back from the file room from now on. The guy we had on it got moved to general.” Linnis’s eyes blew wide. He knew what had happened with Dumbledore, the very man who had tried to _kill_ the Hogwarts Heir and hurt _Harry Lupin-Snape!_ , but he couldn’t believe that he was going to be his guard now. Most of the inmates would go to the back and crush stones or other menial work to keep them busy except for whenever they were in solitude. Linnis privately thought they used solitude more often than they should have, especially since too much time there would drive anyone insane. He wondered how Black had managed to stay there for eleven years straight.

However, because of Dumbledore’s age, they couldn’t precisely put him with the other inmates. So instead, they put him in the file room, moving the files that they had of inmates who had died to where they belonged. It was a cacophony of paper and files down there, but it was just the job for him. Linnis nodded shakily to Matthews’s news and he glanced up at him.

“That means now, Grain.” Matthews hissed and Linnis stumbled back, pulling at his jacket sleeves as he went to the file room.

The file room was significantly small, just a line of file cabinets down one wall and a shaky table on another. Dumbledore stood near the table, where a box of broken wands sat underneath. Considering inmates couldn’t be trusted with wands, they were snapped the moment they stepped on Azkaban property. All that was left in there were pieces of broken wand, some of the cores showing in the wood.

“Um, Dumbledore, it’s time to go back to your cell.” Dumbledore turned to look at him and Linnis shrank slightly. His eyes were wild with the beginnings of insanity though they still glowed with warmth. It sent chills down his spine just looking at him.

“Oh, where is that delightful guard that I had before?” Linnis looked to the ground and happened to notice that one of Dumbledore’s fingernails seemed slightly darker than before. It had almost a brownish tint, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He decided to leave it be.

“It doesn’t matter, come on.” Linnis pulled out his wand and bound Dumbledore’s wrists behind him as he walked him back to his cell, occasionally glancing down at his hand in wonder as to what the old man could have done to it.

~

Harry stretched his arms out as far as they would go in front of the table that he sat at, his textbooks spread out before him like a Chinese fan. The leftmost side had his Transfiguration notes, the second-left had his Charms textbook and a box of Bertie Botts that he had snuck into the library, the middle had his Potions textbook and his notebook, beside that was his History of Magic textbook, and the rightmost side had his Defense study guide. The box was spilled over his Charms textbook and he had been picking off some of them as he continued reading over the theories in his Potions book. He made a face whenever he got grass, gagging slightly as he finished eating it. Never waste what was right in front of him after all.

He heard the chair in front of the table which he had claimed for his own squeak as it was pulled away. He glanced up and a small smile came to his face. Cedric Diggory gave him a small smile as he leaned on his elbows, his admittedly rather nice looking face framed by his hands. “Hey Harry.” Harry gave a small smile at the crack in the fourth year’s voice and he cleared his throat.

“Hey Cedric. What’s going on?” He needed this distraction desperately so he was taking it with both hands and refusing to let go.

“Nothing much, I see you’re in the midst of study mode,” said Cedric with a half-smile upon his face as he looked upon the books that were splayed out in front of Harry. “I need to get into that too.” He admitted, shrugging his fairly broad shoulders.

“You could… study with me.” Harry moved his books towards him so that there was at least some room on the table. Cedric’s eyebrow went up and he straightened.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I just wanted to check up on you.” Cedric explained. A warm feeling settled in the pit of Harry’s stomach at the fact that Cedric had “just wanted to check up” on him. It felt very comfortable, his throat tightening up slightly. There was also a niggling in the back of his mind as though a needle had been pushed through his skull and was piercing his brain. It hurt, but not badly so. He winced slightly. Cedric gave him a small smile and stood from the chair that he sat in.

“Well, I should probably head on. Got Quidditch practice and all that.”

“Hey, once I’m allowed to get on the team, you’ll have some serious competition.” Harry said with a large smirk. Cedric chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him.

“We’ll see, buttercup.” With that, Cedric readjusted his bag on his hip and sauntered out of the library with grace that Harry was envious of. He watched him leave before starting back on his work.

Several hours later, Harry was slowly awoken. “Harry… Harry…” His gaze was hazy and his glasses off-kilter as he looked up and saw platinum blonde hair in a careful style. “Wake up, carissime.” Harry gave a small groan and stretched slightly as he reached his arms out to Draco.

“I’m not s’posed to do this, I’m not even a Mastery student yet. I’m only eleven.”

“But you’re in one of the best magical schools in the United Kingdom. Of course they’ll have hard course loads. Just come on, my carissime.” Harry unsteadily stood and Draco packed up his things into his bag before gently putting it over the boy’s head and through his arm before leading him back to the common room. A small smile was on Draco’s face as he looked down at his best friend and he steadied him as they walked, two friends with nothing to lose and so much ahead for them.


	28. Lights Pass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus and Remus continue their search for a suitable home and the threat has been neutralized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick aside, I know what Severus and Remus have happen in this chapter probably wouldn't actually happen, but I'm working with the idea that Almeda hadn't had time to look at the house yet so that's why their issues are there. Okay, thanks!

_May 12 th, 1992_

“The threat has been neutralized.” Kimlor knew what he had said the first time, but there was something in the pit of her stomach that refused to acknowledge it. Hen stood in that same stance, feet shoulder length apart, his hands behind his back and his curved sword on his back. She was in front of him, her hands down at her sides and a couple of cauldrons bubbling behind her happily. Her insides felt cold although they always felt warm any other time. It was the curse of being a Fire Fae.

“So… you’re going.” She confirmed, looking him in the eyes (completely clear but with that spark of light within them, nearly making them gold rather than clear) and trying to keep her stomach from flipping again. Hen looked back at her and shuffled on his feet.

“As I said, there’s no real reason for me to be here any longer and I need to return to Our Highness in Afoiwia. Hail, Afoiwia, hail.” Hen glanced away from her as he said his hails, something that was ingrained into Elvin culture since the beginning of their existence. Kimlor glanced down and listened to the bubbling of the cauldrons.

“When were you planning on leaving, then?” She asked, her eyes grazing over Hen’s form in a subconscious hunger. She had spent so much time around him and now… he was leaving.

They had known each other since they were children, before the Treaty of Greencrest and whenever the faes and elves refused to acknowledge one another. They had met by accident, their favourite play area coinciding one day. Neither of them had known how to react to one another, the differences between them seeming to be so expansive, so they had taken the easier route of being terrible to one another. Hen would pull Kimlor’s hair and Kimlor would scratch him or burn him with small flickers of flame. In response, he would shine light in her eyes or trip her on her way down the hill.

 As they grew older, they got more intelligent about their attacks. Kimlor learned everything she could about Hen and his family and found that he came from a very average family (for an elf). His mother made delicious biscuits and she always let her have one whenever she came by. His mother would always coo about how the two of them would undoubtedly be together one day. Kimlor had wanted to gag at the very idea. His father ran a bakery in Afoiwia, selling delicacies such as chocolate leaves and strawberry covered light crystals. They had been delicious and one of her vices that she had yet to beat.

Then she had been called by Princess Eresa to be her potioneer. It was a prestigious position, one that had several chances for advancement and the fact that it was with the ruler of the fae kingdom didn’t hurt either. Her family would be well off with the position and she could do something that she loved. Hen had said some sort of harsh word at the time but then he asked if he wouldn’t be seeing her as much. She had answered an affirmative and he said that was all well and good since he was going into Afoiwia’s Royal Force. That was the last conversation they had really had together for almost ten years.

And now they were back together, fighting like children but learning each other’s way of working, and then were just as quickly apart. “Once the school year ends. The Lady’s Heir said that you would be safe now that the wards are back in order and I need to focus on Anydith and her safety and Afoiwia.” Hen told her, “I trust him to understand such things.” He added, as if to salve this pain. Kimlor nodded tersely, not letting her gaze meet Hen’s.

“It all sounds very logical.” She said softly, going to one of her cauldrons and starting to work on another potion that needed to be done for the apothecary in Merrowmoor. She dropped in a single eyeball and the potion fizzled as the eyeball turned upward and then sunk into the concoction. There was a moment of pause, both of them lost in their thoughts of the future and the past, neither of them quite knowing what to say.

The moment passed, and Kimlor turned away from her cauldron to chop the black huddlebugs for the Pepper-Up Potion that she was brewing. Her back was to the door as she heard it open--- then close. The room felt cold suddenly, like the light had left the room.

~

“This house is a four bedroom, two bath, with an uncompleted basement and is two stories.” The realtor they had was a cheerful woman with a professional disposition. Remus thought she would help them very well with what they wanted to get done. Severus, naturally, hated her.

They walked through the front door and Remus gagged softly whenever the smell that permeated the area caught his nose. Severus blinked as he tried to hold down his lunch and Almeda made a small noise. “Oh.” Obviously she hadn’t checked the house first for whatever that smell was or anything else for that matter. Severus grabbed his wand and with two waves, the windows flew open and the smell was rushed out in a gust of wind. It still lingered, the smell of rotten eggs and possibly dog dander not as strong as before but still strong for Remus’s senses.

“I am so sorry, I couldn’t have imagined that smell would have been here.” Severus was clearly already not impressed by this selection, even though the smell was mostly gone for anyone with average senses. The door opened up into a small foray and beyond that, the stairs went up to the first floor. To the right, the living room was small, but decorated with a set of overly fluffed leather chairs, a plaid sofa, and an old gramophone.

“This house has obviously been with an older set of people.” Severus snarked. Remus rammed his hip into his as he walked through. Severus made a small noise of pain and rubbed at it with a small frown on his face. Almeda gave a slightly forced smile.

“Well, yes. The past owners were an older couple who had raised their children here from the late fifties onward and never left until the wife died. The husband was sent to a nursing home by his kids once a few months had gone by.”

“Don’t let Harry do that to you.” Severus told Remus as they looked around. The walls were painted a sickly green, just lighter than the shade of the trees that could be seen through the three panel windows that were in the kitchen.

“What makes you think you’re dying before me?” Remus asked lightly, “We need to look beyond the furniture and paint. Painting is easy. Or so I’ve heard.” Severus made a small noise as he walked through the arched doorway that went into the kitchen. The kitchen had pale brown cabinets, bordering white, and the counters were blinding white. Severus hummed in thought as he glanced around, still obviously unimpressed.

 “They did some remodeling, they installed the latest appliances.” Severus hummed as he walked out of the kitchen and strode towards the stairwell. Remus was still holding out hope for this house, since in actuality all of the things that were problems were actually fairly minor. The smell he could probably get used to, and the ground floor wasn’t terrible, just outdated. Severus made a turn right before the stairwell, opening one of the doors to see the master bedroom.

The bedroom itself was fairly large, dark even though the window was letting in some sunlight. He flicked on a light, which flickered for a few moments before deciding it would turn on. Remus felt a small ray of hope go through him. This wasn’t a bad room, it wasn’t grand or anything, but he didn’t expect either of them really wanted that. The dresser was pressed against the wall and a mirror was placed so that you could see the trio at the doorway. The magic around Severus’s stomach flickered, barely showing the truth, before settling again. The bed was right beside the door, the side of the door barely grazing it.

They walked around the bed and went to the other door, opening it to see the ensuite bath. The bathroom was fairly small, all three of them being a tight squeeze in the little area that was left between the counter and the bathtub that was on the other side. Severus hummed in derision, clearly not impressed as he squirmed his way out, Remus behind him. “Can you imagine the two of us trying to get ready in the morning in there? We’d be running into each other constantly.” Severus hissed as they walked back through the master bedroom and out to the stairwell. Almeda came behind them, her face clearly showing that she knew that unless something changed, this house was not going to work for them.

Severus was careful as he walked up the stairs, clinging to the stair rail so that he couldn’t fall. While the rate of miscarriage at this point was drastically lower than before, they had to take every precaution to make sure something didn’t happen.

Once they got to the ground floor, they saw that it opened up to a hallway, wrapping around the stairwell gently. Severus went to the first bedroom, the room painted hunting green and seemed to function as a study. A large desk sat in the middle of the room and the window looked out onto the small yard. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled to the brim with books. This was probably one of the nicer rooms they had seen thus far. Severus raised an eyebrow as he walked, humming as he mentally took measurements of the room. He went to the door in the corner and opened it, seeing that it led into a Jack-and-Jill bathroom.

“This bathroom was mostly used by grandchildren, as you could probably guess.” The bathroom was painted a gaudy pink with blue stripes and Severus hummed in thought. The bathroom itself was small, with a small shower that had a showerhead that was level with Severus’s shoulders.

“Obviously.” Severus drawled, walking through to the next bedroom. This room was painted a dark purple, a four-poster pressed against the wall and fashioned with black veil-like curtains. “One of their daughters was… dead?” Severus guessed, raising an eyebrow. Even Remus had to admit that this room was in no way impressive and put a serious damper on his thoughts of the house.

“Well, no, their granddaughter would come here fairly often and she… liked this sort of thing.” Almeda said with a small blush on her face. Severus hummed as he left the room and walked around to the last bedroom. As he started to open the door, the smell of rotting eggs and dog dander caught him full force and he stumbled back, gagging as he pulled his collar up to his nose. Remus tried to catch a breath, though he smelled it as well. Almeda blinked back tears at the smell and Severus slammed the door shut, cutting off the smell.

“No.” Severus said decisively.


	29. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry realizes how little control he has over his powers, Draco is the reason, and they talk summer.

_June 6 th 1992_

Harry stretched himself out on the rock beside the Great Lake, his robes acting as a makeshift pillow under his head as he stared up at the sky. It was a perfect day, the sky blue and clear and the lake being used a watering hole for the other students who had finished up their exams and wanted to de-stress. The Daily Prophet laid open beside him, gently fluttering in the breeze that caught its pages. The front page discussed how the government-issued evaluations of Azkaban were coming back and how it showed a great number of grievances against the inmates there. Talk of too-long times in solitude, horrible food conditions, even some talk of abuse of authority were swarming in the article. Harry could hardly believe that one of his teachers was able to endure such agony.

It wasn’t as though he thought that Sirius wasn’t strong. It was clear that even with the number of things against him that the Defense teacher was able to thrive and bring new ideas to the table that might have sounded ridiculous until they actually worked. The fact that he was also his godfather also led to some interesting dynamics, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about Sirius being in that role.

He’d never really known Sirius beyond what his Papa had told him in bedtime stories and those had always had a hint of nostalgia wrapped in disappointment into how the world had turned out. While he knew that some of the things he had been told were made-up now, it was hard to get beyond that type of thinking.

He glanced down at the paper again and read over it. Even though he knew all of the stories, there was one picture that particularly scared him. It showed Dumbledore standing in a file room, his eyes a lit with something akin to insanity but there seemed to be something else. Harry couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about the way he was holding himself. He had his arms near the middle of his body, one hand holding the others wrist. His fingernails looked blackened with dried up blood, but he couldn’t think of why that would be. Dumbledore was in the file room, not out in the field crushing stones. Why would his fingers be bloody like that?

And then there was the picture of the guards. Some of them looked like they belonged in a movie for how stereotypical they looked. They had the bulky bodies, thick beards, grizzled expressions, the whole nine yards. And then there were others that just simply looked like they didn’t want to be there. There was one man who was beside one of the stereotypical ones who definitely fit the latter’s profile.

He was short, almost a head shorter than the man beside him. His frame was slightly box-like, not really defined anywhere. His jacket looked almost two sizes too large on him and his hands were anxiously pulling at the sleeves. He kept on glancing up at the man beside him as though he were getting instructions from him. His hair was very neatly cut and styled and his face looked almost childlike. He didn’t have any of the features of the people beside him and it very clearly showed.

Harry examined him for a few moments, curious as to how this man could have ended up with this crowd, whenever he felt the approach of someone. He didn’t turn his head, trying to follow his instructor’s guidelines of seeking out who it was by the earth rather than by sight alone. Their steps were light; not human. They were moving slowly; sneaking up? He tried to move further up in his mental image whenever he heard a yelp.

“Harry!” Harry turned and saw Draco wrapped up in one of the vines that he had apparently created. Again. “Untie me!” Draco said, trying to wiggle his way out.

“Don’t.” Harry turned and saw Draco’s instructor standing beside him, her red robes fluttering around her. “He needs to use his own powers to escape his situations.”

“Myra!” Draco whined, wiggling and squirming in the binds that were continuing to creep up his shoulders and tying loosely around his neck. “Harry, quit it!” Harry’s eyes were wide as he looked to Myra, who shook her head at him. His stomach curled into knots as he saw Draco’s panicked gaze.

“I… I can’t.” Harry said quietly, his throat clenched tight. The vines continued to creep up Draco’s neck, starting to tie tighter. “Myra… I can’t help him. I don’t know what to do.” Harry told her, his voice cracking. The fire fae stood quietly, simply watching as Draco struggled against the vines.

“Draco. Breathe.” Draco looked over at Myra and she nodded her head. “You can do this.” She said calmly. Draco’s breathing slowed as he caught his breath. His eyes flashed as he looked straight at Harry, the flashes of colour in his grey eyes making Harry’s stomach both curl and relax.

“Calma, amico mio. Respira e mi aiuta.” Harry shook as he felt the magic rush through him, a warming comfort in the fear that was surrounding him. Slowly, the vines were turned to ice and began to break off, the strength of the vines severely lessened as Harry’s shoulders slumped, Draco’s words calming him more than anything his mind could come up with. Draco broke off the rest of the iced vines and quickly moved away, the marks on his hands fading into their more muted colour. Harry let out a small breath, falling to his knees as his magic’s supply went down. Draco quickly went over to him and wrapped him up in his arms, resting his chin on his head.

“I’ve got to learn how to control that.” Harry muttered into Draco’s shirt. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. That’ll be really cool when you learn to duel with it. That would throw anyone off.” Draco told him with a grin as he moved back, standing a foot or so away from him. “Magic, magic, magic, vines!” Draco mimed doing a duel, bouncing on the balls of his feet before straightening up like he was tied up again. Harry cracked a small smile, grateful that Draco wasn’t angry with him for almost killing him. While he was sure that Myra would have stopped them before anything dangerous happened, there was still that possibility. Draco grinned from his stance of straightening up before relaxing.

“I’ll learn how to control it.” Harry vowed, standing up and wiping at some of the mud on his knees. He looked around and saw that Myra had disappeared without a sound. “Where did she—“

“She does that sometimes.” Draco said with a shrug. Harry gave him a concerned look, his eyebrow raising. “It’s not like she leaves me to die!” Draco defended. “I’m safe. I’m all here.” He said, holding his arms out. Harry chuckled as he sat down, watching as Draco moved to sit next to him, drawing his knees up to his chest.

“Any plans for summer?” Harry asked, resting his chin on the tops of his knees.

“I’m not sure yet. My father mentioned something about France, so that could be fun.” Draco said with a shrug. “How’s the house hunt going?” He asked, glancing down at the Daily Prophet that fluttered to show an ad for the Leaky Cauldron.

“As well as it can. Papa said that they’ve looked at four different houses and nothing’s really catching their eye. Maybe we’ll find something this summer whenever we can all look together.” Harry said with a shrug. “We’ve got to hurry though, the twins are due soon.”

“Have they figured out a nursery?” asked Draco, glancing over at Harry in wonder.

“I don’t think they’re doing a nursery. At least not right after the twins are born. It makes sense since they’d have to get up and down anyway. Having the twins close-by makes less work.” Harry mused, nodding his head to the side. “But they want to have room for the twins whenever they get bigger.” Draco nodded in agreement, moving a knee up so that he rested his chin there.

“You should come to France with us this summer. I can’t think of the last time we went out there.” Draco thought aloud. “You’d like it. Lots of room to fly and plenty of flowers. Good food too.” Harry gave a small smile.

“Papa’s going to need help in the shop this summer. Especially with the twins, Uncle Sev’s starting to struggle apparently. Not that he’d ever admit it.” Draco grinned and nodded.

“Yeah, I almost feel bad for him. I remember when my mum was pregnant with Callie, she was always out of breath and by the time she was really pregnant, she had to have my father help her with getting up.” He remember fondly, smiling into his knee. Harry chuckled as well, nodding.

“Oh, remember that time we went for ice cream and she asked Mr. Fortesque for that banana and pickle sundae.” Draco shuddered at the memory, making small gagging noises to make it clear his thoughts.

“Yeah. That was disgusting. Do you think Uncle Sev’s been having those kinds of cravings?” He asked, looking over at Harry.

“I hope not. I don’t know if Papa’s nose could take it.” Harry said with a grin. Draco threw his head back, the sunlight bouncing off his platinum hair and the fairness of his skin as he laughed. Harry grinned sheepishly, resting his chin against his knee. He looked towards the castle.

“It’s weird to think that so much has changed since September.”

“Yeah. A girl died. A professor got thrown in jail. Dumbledore’s in Azkaban. Your godfather’s not a murderer. My father’s apparently with your non-murderer godfather.”

“Uncle Sev is pregnant.”

“And we’re going to be second years. Which means Quidditch!” Draco reminded. Harry chuckled and nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Quidditch! With us on Slytherin team, nothing will beat us.” Harry stretched out his legs as he stood up, rolling up his robes into a ball and tucking it under his arm. Draco followed behind him, picking up the Prophet and folding it up before slinging his free arm over Harry’s shoulders. Harry grinned and tucked his free arm around Draco’s waist, the two of them starting back towards the castle with the sun still beaming brightly behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word of warning: Shit's about to hit the fan. Like I was scared writing the next chapter. One of the characters is seriously worrying me. And I'm back! My muse is back I think and I'm going to tie her down until this part of the series is over.


	30. A Familiar Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend makes her appearance for better or for worse and the final piece is put into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story is almost done it feels like. We're focusing on the other characters whether I like it or not, but we'll get back to Harry soon! Trust me, the last one in this series is going to be where all the fun stuff is, I can feel it in my booones. So get excited for that! Also, what Dumbledore does here is pretty brutal, so read at your discretion folks!

_June 10 th, 1992_

“Welcome to Good Cuppa.” Marlena said over her shoulder, fixing up a cup of tea for a customer as the door shut closed behind the enterer. “I’ll be with you in a minute.” She told them, placing the cup on a saucer and adding a few packets of sugar for taste on the side. She waited for a response from her new customer, but heard not even a whispered ‘Hello’. The hair on the back of Marlena’s neck stood up as she slowly turned and saw a figure standing on the other side of the counter, a long cloak with a raven pin on their breast obscuring them. Marlena drew her wand by her hip as she went to the counter, her other hand carrying the tea.

“Can I help you?” Marlena didn’t know who this person was, but she was fully prepared to defend this place if worse came to worse. Her mind raced with thoughts of Dumbledore supporters storming the store and destroying those here. A little boy ran up and took the tea from the counter that Marlena set there.

“Yes.” Marlena held her breath, her skin tingling with the endorphins rush that was flowing through her. “Are you Marlena White?” She was incredibly confused as very few people still called her by her married name since Cecilia disappeared. However, that voice was familiar to her and her heart sang in a way that she never thought she would feel again.

“I was at one time.” Marlena told them, her eyes narrowing in confusion but hope mixed with what she could only be described as anger. “Ma’am, who are you?” The hood shifted and a single hand came up to the edge. The hood was lifted away as the woman said,

“Didn’t I always tell you that I would come home?” Remus came into the main lobby to find his assistant vaulting herself over the edge, slapping a woman who appeared to be in shock.

“How dare you! How dare you!” She accented each of these with a slap, the woman holding her hands up to try and keep away Marlena’s anger. Marlena drew her wand and looked ready to kill this woman, which prompted Remus to action.

“Marlena! Expelliarmus!” Marlena’s wand flew into Remus’s hand. Marlena’s head jerked up and he was at the forefront of her anger.

“Remus Lupin-Snape, give me my wand right now! Give it to me!” Marlena advanced on Remus like a rising storm, jerking her hand at Remus with gritted teeth. Her eyes were alit with fire and heartache.

“No! Not when you’re acting like this! You can’t kill people in my shop!” Remus said, quickly backing away. The other customers were standing up, helping Cecilia White to her feet. Cecilia swayed on her feet, her hand going up to her face as though she were just feeling the heat of the slaps that she had received. Marlena continued stalking Remus like a lioness, both of them dancing around each other as the other customers waited to find out how they could help.

“Marlena.” The woman spun around on her heel, her hair flying like a cape behind her to face her wife. “Stop.”

“Why should I? You left! You left like a wind in the night and I thought you would come home, but you never did! I thought you were dead! I grieved for you, Cecilia! Our daughter grieved for you! Her first bout of accidental magic was because she grieved for you!” Marlena advanced on Cecilia with each sentence, although Cecilia stood firm. Once Marlena was close enough, Cecilia surged forward and kissed her.

Remus wondered briefly if that would actually work, but found his answer as Marlena slammed her foot down on Cecilia’s and forced her away.

“Don’t you dare try that! You can’t silence me right now with sweet kisses, Cecilia White. I’ve moved on.” Marlena swept away with her cloak billowing behind her, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she went into the back room. The silence that permeated the room was stifling as Remus watched Cecilia swallow softly and look down at the ground.

“This was not how I pictured this.”

“I’m not entirely sure what you were expecting. You have been gone for the past five years.” Remus reminded her. She gave him a stony look, though clearly she couldn’t say anything in response. She looked down at the ground and fiddled with the edge of her cloak like a chastised child. Remus wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to her, so he decided that he wouldn’t for the time being. He left her in the front, questioning when his life had gotten this confusing.

Remus walked back behind the counter, wiping down some of the spilt tea that had been overturned. “Where have you been anyway?” He asked as Cecilia sat down at the table beside the bar, staring down at her hands. “Five years is a pretty long time.”

“Yeah, don’t I know it.” The bitterness in her voice was palpable as she seemed to think through what she wanted to say. “Missing out on so much of my daughter’s life. On _our_ life together. Just because of some wackos wanting to have their own ‘revolutions’. That Voldemort guy didn’t just have people in the UK you know.” Remus hummed, unsure of what she meant by that.

“It was just supposed to be a simple potions bust in Austria. Go there, get the crooks, be home by pudding on Sunday at the very latest. But when we got there, it was so much more than a potions bust. Our intel was off by a lot in terms of the numbers and the intent. My partner managed to escape, but they captured me and Amelia, another woman on my team. They wanted virgin blood for some experiments they were doing.” Cecilia paused, cringing as memories sprung forth. Remus gave her a long look, watching as she worked through whatever she had seen. “I managed to get some information, not a lot, but enough that it wasn’t a lost cause to keep going. I couldn’t let these crazies get to the UK, to her. So I just kept traveling, kept fighting. But every time I thought I was through, there would be another mysterious death, another person forcing their way into the fray. I just wish I hadn’t hurt her.” Remus looked down at the bar for a while, taking another person’s order as he thought.

He knew that when Severus had been an Auror, he had seen some things and done some things that he hadn’t been proud of, but that was par the course it seemed. He swore up and down that being a Death Eater had been five times worse and he would take some dubious actions over the horrendous things that he had done then. “I can’t speak for Marlena, but you really need to tell her these things. I can’t promise that she’ll forgive you, but telling her will at least put some things in perspective, right?” Cecilia nodded, standing up and heading out the door without another word.

~

Dumbledore scoured the latest intake of wands, knowing that he just needed one last piece before everything would fall into place and he could start making his own strides towards freedom. His left hand ached from the abuse that he put it through, his nails darker than they had any right to be. Pushing wood underneath your nails was no easy task but it was one he was willing to do. It was all theoretical at this point, but he knew that even if they had snapped his wand in two, he still had magic within him. All he had to do now was find an outer core to centralize it all. He shook out the broken wands that were in the box, strand after strand of dragon heart strings or unicorn hairs falling in and curling around each other. He finally decided on a piece of unicorn hair, slightly darker than what was usually seen from unicorns but he could feel the power that radiated from it. He flexed his hand out as he carefully wrapped the hair around his middle finger twice before pulling as hard as he could. The hair was taunt by the time he was finished, drops of blood coming from his finger as he decided it was in his skin enough.

He tied it off at the end of his knuckle, flexing his hand a few times to see if it worked. He could feel something happening, a rush through his core and down to his hand. He turned his hand over, curling his fingers in, _“Lumos.”_

A ball of light appeared in his hand, growing bigger as he opened his hand wide and smaller as he closed it. A smile spread across his face, having never felt this level of power in a long time.

_“Nox.”_


	31. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a breaking point. Unfortunately, Severus's couldn't have come at a worse time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... so, here's the thing. I love this series. I really honestly do. I love that it has been with me since my junior year of high school and I have seen how my writing has matured through it. And I really want to get to the end of this series since leaving a series in the middle is kind of like being stranded on a hill with an ocean of emotions surrounding you without a boat. But you guys have got to understand that it will take me a lot of time because my world has changed and is continuing to change since high school. So, this is me coming in with a rowboat saying that we'll get to the shore soon enough. I just really suck at rowing and I didn't bring a map.

_June 15 th, 1992_

“Come on, Mum, up you get.” Linnus Grain gently guided his mother up into a sitting position, readjusting the pillows as needed. The frail woman smiled warmly at him, glancing down at the soup that he held.

“How was work, dear?” She asked, her voice soft as Linnus fed her a spoonful of the minestrone soup that he had made.

“It was fine. Same people, same Dementors.” He told her, wiping at her chin with a towel as the watery red of the soup started to dribble. His mother nodded in agreement, resting her temple on his slight shoulders as she continued to eat.

“I saw that you had to get an inspection. Were you okay?” Linnus glanced over at the paper that still sat on her nightstand. It was over a month old with the more recent ones below it. Eventually she would get the answers she wanted.

“Yes, I was one of the few guards who wasn’t put in contempt for inhumane treatment.” His partner, Dandre Cole, hadn’t been put in contempt either. For the harsh exterior that he showed, he had never done anything to the extent that the others had like Albert Matthews. It had made Linnus some level of proud to see that Dandre hadn’t actually done anything and that he was able to see him in the break room before their shift had started. Dandre had pushed him when he saw the grin on Linnus’s face, mumbling into his coffee about there not needing to be that horrible in a place like Azkaban.

“You’ve always been a good boy, Linnus, I knew you couldn’t do anything like that. You’re too pure of heart for the things they were talking about.” Linnus fed his mother another spoonful, deciding that he might need to try and make sure the things that his mother read wouldn’t be too much for her. He pushed a long piece of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. “You don’t have to take care of me like this, sweet one.”

“You’re my Mum, of course I’ll take care of you. I’m returning the favor after all these years.” His mother gave him a soft look of concern but otherwise said nothing as she took another spoonful.

“You should be living your life. You’re barely out of the castle, Linnus.” Linnus shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter. You need me, end of story.” She gave him a look that clearly told him she didn’t like that thought at all, but said nothing more. Linnus waved a hand at her paper and the paper made its way to the bottom of the stack. She didn’t need to read anything more about that whole mess; it was over and done with and everything was starting to turn out better for the inmates in Azkaban.

~

It was quiet at Moonlit Cottage.

Severus Lupin-Snape was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling and trying to count the flickers of light that passed through the window from the half-crescent moon. The twins were fighting in his womb, making it even harder for him to sleep. He turned onto his side with a huff, trying to find a way to get comfortable. One of the twins kicked his spleen, making him wince. He sat up partially, punching his pillow before turning onto his other side. His husband might as well have been dead for how asleep he was.

He wasn’t sure what it was, the stillness of the night perhaps, but there was something in the air. A sort of waiting, a flickering in the edges of his consciousness that he was not prepared for. There was something coming, something that if he did not find out what it was could consume them. He turned onto his side again, staring at the window. He didn’t have a lot of time left before the twins would be ready for the world, where he couldn’t protect them as well. At least whenever they were in his womb he knew where they were, that they were safe in the simplest of terms. He could feel them move, feel them kick. One of them was going to be a football star.

He tried to go over new regulations for the school, things that had needed to happen for years but had never come to pass. There needed to be better integration of Muggle things, not to say that everything needed to change, but at least bring Hogwarts to the 20th century. He needed to look over the coursework for the next year, make sure they were still on task for the students to be able to get their OWLs and NEWTs. For a first year teacher, Black had not done horrible at all. His OWL students had an E- average and his NEWT students had an A+ average. There was room for improvement of course, but that would come with experience.

Severus hummed as he decided to go to the bathroom, figuring that if he got a glass of water he might be able to fall asleep and the movement would do him good. He rolled onto his side, trying to accommodate for the extra weight as he squirmed off the bed and finally got in a good position to stand up. The twins seemed to like that since they stopped kicking and instead were moving around gently, like they were trying to lull themselves to sleep. He huffed as he got up, clinging to the bedframe as he started moving. He couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t pregnant if he tried. The weight on his back hurt as he walked, making him all the more frustrated by the time he found a glass and went to the bathroom to fill it up.

No matter the convenience of them not being born, he would be glad when the twins were born. Not only would this pain be over, but they would be part of the first generation to be born into a world without Dumbledore or Voldemort’s machinations. They could live normal lives, go to primary school, go to a well-run Hogwarts, go onward and upward as far as they wanted to. It would be different for them obviously since their mother (father?) was Hogwarts Heir, but that wouldn’t change much of their lives as far as he could think.

He glanced up to the mirror and felt his heart rate rise. His father stared at him again, this time with a sneer that had been all too familiar to him during his childhood. “This is just getting disgusting.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Severus could feel the water flowing over the cup and onto his hand.

“I knew that you were a fairy, but this is unnatural. You’re making yourself look ridiculous for what? Two bastard children who will have to carry on their shoulders the fact that they were nothing more than a science experiment for a man who couldn’t have the woman he loved so he took the second-best that he could get?”

“He’s not second-best.” That all too familiar sneer, the one that he knew that he had gotten from him, morphed into something nearly pitying.

“That’s what you keep telling yourself, isn’t it? Just to make yourself feel better you went for someone who is just as fucked up as you and now you’re making a couple of kids who are going to be fucked up too. Congratulations, you’ve kept the cycle going.” Severus could feel his blood boil over.

“They aren’t fucked up!” He yelled, the glass shattering under his fist as his father finally went away. He felt the pain as an after-effect as Remus ran into the room, the water still flowing over his hand.

“What the hell is going on?” Severus shook from anger, letting his hand fall down so that he could wash it under the tap.

“They aren’t fucked up. They are not going to be fucked up.” Harry rubbed at his eyes under his glasses as he walked into the room. He had already taken his glass eye out for the night, which threw off his depth perception.

“Who’s not fucked up?” Harry asked in confusion.

“The…” He rethought his decision to explain this to his adopted son and decided that he would need to do damage control, “Go back to bed, Harry, I’m sorry if I woke you.” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, still not understanding what was going on.

“Severus, your hand is bleeding.” Remus told him simply, ignoring Harry for the moment to focus on Severus. “What happened?”

“I…” How did you explain to your husband that you were seeing your estranged father in the mirror and had been fighting with him? If he wasn’t already headed for the nut-house by the end of this, that would have sealed the deal. Severus’s stalling gave Remus the answer that he needed it seemed, since a few moments later he turned to Harry.

“Harry, go back to bed. Everything’s fine.” Remus told Harry without any room for argument. The boy gave both of them a very concerned look, his eyebrows furrowed.

“But—“

“Bed. Now. We’ll talk about this in the morning.” Remus told him coarsely. After some stalling, Harry finally left, leaving Severus staring at the shattered mirror with an even more shattered center where he had punched it. He could only see himself and Remus standing there in the many reflections, neither of them speaking at first.

“Severus.” Remus moved forward, resting a hand on his under the water as it started to run clear. “What do you need?” He looked down at their hands, thinking over this question. He needed Dumbledore dead. He needed to be able to trust himself around his family. He needed to understand his place in this fucked up game of chess that he found himself in. He needed…

“I think I need to talk to someone about my father.” He could see Remus’s eyebrow rise in one of the shattered pieces. “He’s coming back to haunt me and I believe it is safe to say that punching mirrors is not the solution, no matter how cathartic.” Remus stood there for a time, not responding to Severus’s albeit poor attempt at tension relief, before finally turning and walking out of the bathroom. A few moments later he returned with the off-white first-aid kit that was normally used post-moon. He set it down on the edge of the bathtub and found the tweezers within.

“Sit.” Severus obeyed, sitting on the bathtub’s edge with Remus next to him. Remus held out a hand for Severus’s and began to pick out the glass shards. “There are apparently things that we haven’t talked about yet and we’re about to have children and buy a house. I’m sure you see how bad that is.” Severus said nothing as he watched Remus pick out the smaller pieces. “I’ve told you a lot about my family and I’m starting to understand why you never told me about yours. But I have a feeling it might affect you when it comes to our cubs and while I trust you, I need to know what we’re up against.”

Severus looked down at the bathtub, unable to respond for a few moments. The thing that struck him as odd, which even he didn’t entirely understand since they had been together for years now, was the fact that Remus kept saying “we”. We’ll work through this, we’ll talk about this, what we’re up against. It wasn’t fair to Remus, but even now he hadn’t entirely gotten over the fact that he wasn’t alone in this anymore.

Severus slowly collected his thoughts before he began.

“My father was afraid of magic. Especially powerful magic.”


	32. To Have a Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco is sickly and a house is finally found

_June 15 th, 1992_

Draco did not feel well. His birthday had come and gone with the usual pomp and circumstance that befitted the occasion. But his head hurt like someone was dropping a pile of bricks on his head continuously. He couldn’t stand to have Callie in his room and any bright light only made it worse. He knew that Eresa was probably being called to find out what was going on, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He shrunk further under the covers as he heard the door open. Thankfully his father had put a Darkness Charm around his bed so that even the outside light couldn’t penetrate it. He heard soft footsteps on the soft carpet making their way around his bed before the bed sank slightly and he felt soft hands run through his hair. He whimpered slightly as he turned towards the somewhat familiar touch, yearning for his mother more than anything at that moment. He didn’t open his eyes, knowing that if he did he would lose the illusion.

He missed his mother more than he could ever let on. He knew that she had died the day that Callie was born for reasons he still hadn’t been fully told. He knew that it was explicitly his sister’s fault that his mother had died, but why did she have to be the one to be left behind. Why was she the consolation for him losing his mother, his father losing his wife, everyone losing her? She would never see him play Quidditch for Slytherin, never see him graduate or get a job, never see Callie grow up, never see him get married or have kids of his own. She would only be a memory of soft words and kisses in the night on his forehead.

He heard another set of footsteps enter and this time someone spoke in a very soft voice, “How long will this last?” His father’s voice sounded like a bass drum in his head and he whimpered again as he sunk into the mattress, the hand on his hair still trying to sooth him.

“It should be done by the end of the week.” The illusion broke at that moment, the unnaturally long fingers belonging to Eresa, the ruler of Merrowmoor. Of course she would be there, he was a commodity in her kingdom after all and she would know the most about what was happening to him. He tried to get out of her grip, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so. “His magic might be reacting with the fae magic and trying to grapple with it. Have you gotten the elf to come by?”

“He can’t make it over. Remus is getting ready for tonight and Severus is too pregnant to make the trip. He’s been put on bedrest. I can’t go get him since I don’t want to leave him alone, Sirius is off somewhere and we have no other options. I’m sure Harry wants to come over, but he can’t.” Lucius explained, obviously upset at this knowledge. Draco finally managed to work up enough energy to turn onto his other side, turning away from Eresa. He didn’t want her, he wanted his mother. He wanted her to pet his hair and tell him everything was going to be okay. He wanted her to rub his back and kiss his head and not be gone forever. “Is there anything we can do for now?”

“Keep him warm. He looks like a corpse already.” His father walked out, obviously slow to see if anything would change. After a few moments, Eresa left as well. This was when Draco felt safe enough that he could bury his face in his pillow and let the burn behind his eyelids be satisfied with the tears that ran down his face.

~

“This is a four bedroom, two bathroom home with a reserved space for any potions that might want to be had.” Remus nodded slowly, keeping his gaze as steady as possible so that he could show this to Severus later. Severus hated every moment of being pregnant now since Healer Boyd had told them that with Severus’s already barely sufficient weight, he didn’t need to be putting stress on himself in these last months before the twins were due to arrive. That mostly meant that along with his restrictions on the potions that he made, he had to restrict all travel to the barest necessities and no Apparation if it could be helped. He knew for a fact that Severus was getting cabin fever since he had read everything that they had in Moonlit and was finding it more and more difficult to delegate his work to Minerva who was stepping up as Deputy Headmistress.

“The bedrooms are all upstairs and here is the lounge area.” The room had obviously been staged by someone with a bit more experience in the field than the past few houses they had seen. It made the house look homely but not overly messy with the soft leather couches and the dark red curtains that were contrasted by the pale white walls. He thought that even Severus would find this room nice at the very least. “Through those doors you can see out into the garden, plenty of space for children as you might guess.” She said, opening the sliding doors so that they could walk out into the warm summer air. “The trees give wonderful coverage so you will be able to play a round of Quidditch if you like.” She had already met Harry but she still didn’t entirely know about Severus, though the fact that they were looking at such an expansion probably didn’t make it hard to speculate why. After a few moments of looking around, they returned inside.

“The kitchen has been renovated recently with light wood cabinets and the ever popular geometric print that you can see on the wall here.” She said as they walked in. Remus had to enjoy the space that they had as they looked around, though the print would probably be annoying after a while. He wasn’t that concerned about that aspect though, far more interested in the appliances that were available. Luckily, he noted that they seemed to be up-to-date and there would be plenty of room for cooking in this particular room with a table for them to sit at. “The dining room through here also has access to the garden and has plenty of room for guests.” She told him as they walked in, the dark pink contrasting with the metallic yellow of the circles on the wall. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that idea, but he did enjoy the space and he walked around to illustrate this to Severus. They walked back through the kitchen to the other side where the family room sat and another, smaller set of stairs stood in the corner. “These stairs go up to a small study that can be converted into a play area or kept as the study.” She told him as they looked around the room.

Remus had to admit that the house was looking better and better in his opinion as they went back to the main hall to go up the stairs to the bedrooms. He wasn’t sure how he would feel about these stairs in a few years, he’d always pictured things on the ground floor since his knees ached at times after the moons, but he was sure he could handle it. The bedrooms were in a variety of sizes, giving plenty of options for who would be put where. While Remus was still of the opinion that the children didn’t necessarily need their own rooms, the fact that this house was still within their budget and seemed to check their boxes for what they needed made it all the more appealing.

“I’ll need to discuss this with Severus, but I really think he’ll like this.” He told the real estate agent, nodding as he continued to think. The house was more than they could have hoped for and he knew that Severus would agree that with a few changes to the wards, it would be perfect.


	33. The Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... we're here. At this chapter that breaks my heart and makes me wish I could treat these characters better. There is a bit of horror in this one, you'll be able to tell where probably, a bit of fluff, and then straight back into it. This is probably the second to last chapter since I want to move on to the last one of the series. Thanks for all of the support!

_July 22 nd 1992_

The night was warm and humid, the recent rain making it impossible for anyone to sleep. The windows and screen doors were thrown open as people slept in unfamiliar rooms that had only become theirs a week ago. Harry had taken the move as well as he could, though he would miss the home that had become his sanctuary from his family from hell. He had walked through every room in Moonlit before they left, taking in the memories and the emotions that had come with them. Moving in had been a chore, especially since Severus hadn’t been able to help as much as he would have liked. He’d mostly been put to delegating and putting away smaller things that wouldn’t have been a great deal of effort for them. The Floo network had been established in the lounge and the family room and there were plans for the study to become a library one day with some help from some Wizarding space. Those were far off plans though and for now the family slept and dreamed of odd things.

Severus found himself in a pale pink room, though it seemed to stretch on for as far as his eye could reach. He didn’t understand why he was here or whether he needed to be concerned or not. He turned around slowly, trying to find something familiar. “Hello?” He called, feeling as though he were waiting for someone or something. There was a small smattering of footsteps coming towards him and he turned to find a young girl, hardly old enough to be running, coming towards him with dirty blonde hair flying behind her. A little boy was close behind, though he wasn’t rushing. The little girl flung herself at him and he caught her almost too easily, swinging her up onto his hip as he had done for Callie so many times.

“Daddy!” His heart caught in his throat as he looked at her, finding the resemblance uncanny. She had inherited the Snape nose unfortunately, but it wasn’t too much for her face. Those hazel eyes were all her father’s though and the smile was definitely his as well. “I’ve been waiting for so long!” She told him, slurring over her words slightly in her excitement.

“Me too!” The little boy said, also holding his arms up to be picked up. Severus carefully moved the girl, his daughter presumably, so that he could pick up the little boy as well. He had gotten the Lupin nose, thankfully, but the eyes and complexion were his. Both of them hugged him around the neck, making it harder for him to breath for a moment. They kissed his temples simultaneously before sliding down and standing up with matching grins on their faces. The excitement that both of them seemed to have made him slightly nervous.

“Why am I here?” He asked, looking to both of them. His son took both of his hands and kissed them on the backs of them. Once done, Severus got his hands back to find that they had the runes from almost eight months before. Realization dawned on him as the two siblings turned on their heels and ran away from him, laughing as his daughter yelled, “It’s time, Daddy!”

“No, it’s not! You still have another month!” Severus yelled, running after them.

“It’s time, it’s time!” She told him in a sing-song voice. “It’s time for us to be born!” She elongated the last word as Severus yelled,

“No, it’s not!” He jerked upright, shaking as he looked at his hands and saw the runes shining in the moonlight. “Oh no. Remus, wake up.” Remus jerked awake, staring at him in confusion and sleepiness, “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” Remus asked, squinting his eyes as he looked at Severus.

“The twins, you idiot! Apparently it’s time for them to be born.” He told him, holding up his hands to show him the runes. “We need to go. Now.” Both of them rolled out of bed after that statement, Remus tugging on trainers and Severus finding the emergency baby bag he had on hand (he hadn’t been entirely sure what to do with himself when he was confined to Moonlit and this was one of the easiest tasks he had). He went to Harry’s room to find him sprawled out over his duvet, his window thrown open and the summer’s breeze coming through. “Harry, wake up.” Severus shook the boy awake by the shoulder, him jerking awake and reaching blindly for his glasses and his eye.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, pushing in his eye and looking up at him.

“The twins are ready to be born, whether we like it or not. I didn’t know if you wanted to come with us or not, but I’m giving you the opt—“ Harry was already attempting to get up, not even deigning that with an actual response. Severus glanced out at the night, having the odd sense that tonight could not have been a worse night for these children to be born.

~

All of the plans had come to this one moment in time. Dumbledore had waited and tested every possibility, drawing a small company of his fellow inmates who would be useful to him when he made his escape. Harry Potter would not slip through his fingers again.

Linnus Grain walked past his normal inmates, most of them asleep with the late hour. He had gotten used to it (over time) and he was more than ready to go home. He hated being on the graveyard shift, but it was the price he paid for the overtime. His mother would be alright for one night, he had left her soup and medication waiting for the caretaker he had hired. He hated being alone here, with only the dementors and the men down in processing as his company. Not even Dandre was here, him having gone to his girlfriend for their two year anniversary. He would have to tell him that his girlfriend was getting antsy and would really like to see a ring sometime soon. Linnus smiled as he imagined the dour man’s response to that. He’d probably shove him on the shoulder and tell him that he would get to that in his own time, though in not so many words.

He walked to Dumbledore’s cell, unlocking the front so that he could go in to check on him. “Dumbledore, guard on check.” He called, wanting to give the man a bit of warning. He waited for a response but found that none was forthcoming. “Guard on check.” He repeated, wondering if he were already asleep. It was already late, nearing the witching hour, but he thought that he stayed up a bit later than this. He shrugged and pushed the door open, figuring he had given as much warning as he needed to.

He walked into the room and stepped back almost immediately. Dumbledore was standing under the window, his uniform hanging off his form like rags and making him look more like a dementor than a man. His hand was bloody and dark, though there was a gleam to it that made Linnus shudder. There wasn’t anything right about that hand or the maniacal look that was in those once twinkling eyes. He stood there, shaking slightly as he tried to pull himself together enough to leave, but couldn’t find it in him to move. Even as Dumbledore raised his hand and motioned with a finger to draw him closer. Linnus didn’t know what his body was doing, but taking the shaky step that he took was not part of his plan.

“You’ve been a very good guard for me, Linnus Grain.” Dumbledore told him, the word TRAITOR seeming to catch the moonlight. “Making sure I have my food, making sure I’m always where I’m supposed to be. I’m sure you’ve made your mother so proud. So very proud.” Linnus’s stomach dropped at the mention of his mother. He did his best not to talk about personal things at work since the prisoners liked to use them against the guards if they could. He nodded slowly, reaching down for his wand. “Oh, you won’t be needing that.” With a flick of that bloody and disgusting hand, the wand flew from its holster and away from his reach.

“You see, whenever you destroyed my wand, I was powerless. It felt as though part of my very self was missing. It was like losing my arm.” He flicked his hand at Linnus and he cried out as a lash went deep into his wand arm, slicing through skin and muscle like tissue paper. “It was very heart wrenching for me, I’m sure you can imagine.” Another flick of his hand and Linnus felt a slash on his chest. He tried to cover it with his injured arm, but found it was too painful to move. “But I came up with a thought. If the wand choses the wizard based on their magical core, why, I should be able to connect a wand to my core through my body. Doesn’t that make sense?” Linnus didn’t dare tell him otherwise as his other hand desperately held his arm over the lash, his own blood dripping onto the concrete. “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. Unfortunately, with the way that things are these days, it’s so hard to think right, don’t you think?” Linnus said nothing as Dumbledore strode towards him, looking down at him once he got close enough.

“Your mother would have been proud of you, Linnus.”  

~

“Mr. Lupin-Snape, it’s great to see you. I wish it weren’t so early, but when they’re ready, they’re ready.” Healer Boyd said with a shake of her head. Severus couldn’t agree more, though he wished this feeling of apprehension would leave. Everything was fine, there was no reason to be worried. Healer Boyd helped him onto a stretcher and moved him towards the operating theatre, handing him a vial of light green liquid. “This is your anesthetic, you’ll be able to stay awake but you won’t feel anything on your lower half for the operation.” She explained. Severus nodded shortly and uncorked it, giving it a whiff to make sure he knew what it was before nodding again and taking it. Remus was walking beside him, giving him a soft smile as the doors were pushed open and they were wheeled into the theatre with two nurses walking along with them.

“Are you ready for this, love?” Remus asked him, pulling on scrubs and covering his mouth with a face mask as instructed. Healer Boyd waved her wand as three lines, one white, one blue, and one red began to dance around the room, showing a steady rhythm of Severus’s and the twins’ heartrates. Severus’s was slightly faster, but that could have been the nervousness.

“Do I really have a choice?” Severus replied, giving a small smirk to his husband. Even with his feelings of trepidation (and he wasn’t sure why he was having those in the first place), he knew that the two of them were ready. They had finally found the place they could raise their children without worry. They would be able to grow and learn and be happy in an environment that loved them.

“How did you know to wake up?” Remus asked as a curtain blocked Severus from his heavily pregnant belly. “You don’t usually jerk around in bed.” He told him.

“I’m going to be making the first incision now.” Healer Boyd told them.

“It was odd, I actually had a dream of the two of them… coming to me and giving me the runes again.” He explained, honestly unsure of how to explain it himself.

“Second incision.”

“They gave you the runes?” Remus asked, clearly confused by such an idea himself.

“That’s the best way I can describe it. They came up to me and told me that it was time and… they were right.” Severus said with a shrug, wishing he could explain it better.

“We’re getting to the uterus.” Severus’s heartrate jumped slightly, though he tried to calm down and return it to the rate of the twins’. Both of them seemed to be completely fine. Somewhere, a clock began to chime. “Here’s one.” A piercing scream filled the hall. One of the nurses took the baby and showed her to Severus and Remus. She was covered in blood and looked deathly pale, but she was alive and crying. The clock stopped chiming, “Here’s number two.” A feebler cry came from the second baby as he was delivered. He was also covered in blood, but that was to be expected it looked like. “We’ll stitch you up and get you on your merry way.” Severus sighed in relief. Both of his children were healthy and didn’t look to have any complications. They were safe where they were and he would never let them feel the fear that he had growing up. Remus kissed Severus’s forehead.

“They’re gorgeous, Severus. Completely gorgeous.” He was wheeled into a recovery room, where the children were laying in bassinets nearby. Both of them still looked paler than they had any right to, but Severus was simply happy that they seemed to be healthy. He took the girl into his arms and held her to his chest, a wave of paternal warmth going through him. She mouthed at his shirt and he gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry, little one, for all of the things that potions can make, breast milk is not one of them.” He motioned for Remus to get the bottle that was sitting nearby and hand it to him, grateful that one of the nurses had gotten that ready. The girl took to the bottle almost immediately, suckling at it and closing her eyes contently. The boy started whining, obviously wanting to be fed as well and Remus took to the task, picking him up and taking him to the small alcove nearby where he could feed him.

“We’ll need to name them.” Severus told him, watching as the little girl guzzled down the bottle with no sign of hesitation. The two of them had contemplated names before, but they had never been able to come up with a concise agreement about what names they thought were best.

“I want to save Lily for Harry if he ever has kids.” Remus reminded him. Severus nodded as he looked down at the little girl. “But I like the idea of naming her after something in nature.”

“What about Ivy? Ivy Hope?” Severus asked, glancing up from his contemplation of the little girl in his arms. Remus beamed, well aware that his mother would be infinitely pleased that her granddaughter shared her name. She gave him an odd look from over her bottle. “Does that name suit you then?” She released the bottle and dribbled formula down her chin. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He told her as he wiped away the dribble with his sleeve. Almost immediately, she grabbed at his finger and held tight, blinking bright blue eyes up at him. He gave her a look of alarm, certain that her eyes had been hazel in his dream.

“And what about you?” Remus asked the little boy, who was still in the midst of drinking his bottle. “What’ll we call you? Rowan?” This last question was directed towards Severus. The name had been tossed around a few times and Severus found no reason to disagree with it. “Rowan Basil.” Severus nodded, liking the sound of the name.

“Your mother had blue eyes, did she not?” Severus asked, trying to figure out where Ivy’s eye color had come from.

“Yeah, though they change in certain lights. Why?”

“Ivy seems to have inherited them. I thought they were hazel in my dream, but maybe I just saw them wrong.” Severus told him as Remus stood and put Rowan over his shoulder, patting his back gently and rocking him as he made his way back over. Rowan let out a burp, hiccupping in alarm before crying in fear of the unknown. Remus couldn’t help but chuckle as he rocked the boy, soothing him from his fears.

“Come on now, little one. No need for tears. Just a burp was all it was.” Remus soothed, walking around the room with Rowan in his arms, bouncing him gently. “Should I let in the battalion?” Remus asked Severus as Ivy was put up onto Severus’s shoulder to be burped as well.

“I’m surprised they haven’t beat down the door.” Severus drawled as he heard Ivy sneeze into his shoulder followed closely by spit-up. “Not what I was going for, love.” Severus told her, rubbing her back to try and get the gas moving. Remus opened the door and Harry slowly made his way into the room, giving them curious and apprehensive looks. Rowan had finally been soothed to soft hiccups, sniffling into Remus’s nightshirt. Ivy on the other hand gave a burp finally and Severus was able to cradle her against his chest. Harry stood by the bed, looking at his new sister with something akin to wonder. Callie and Draco came in shortly after, the little girl running to her godfather and looking up.

“I wanna see the baby!” She told him, making grabby hands up at him and Rowan.

“Go sit down and you could even get to hold him.” Remus told her, motioning towards the small cushioned area that he had been feeding Rowan in earlier. Callie gasped quietly before scrambling up onto the seat and making more grabby hands towards Rowan. Remus sat down beside her as Draco went to see Ivy, Harry still standing transfixed. Severus gave Harry a knowing look, already picturing the deep seated protection that Ivy would be under for the rest of her days. Remus’s mother slowly walked in with Lucius and Sirius close behind, the room becoming incredibly crowded as everyone went to see the babies.

Remus’s mother nearly cried at the information that her granddaughter shared her name, hugging Severus around the neck as she went to get a closer look at Ivy from Harry’s arms. Lucius and Sirius took turns holding Rowan, both of them enjoying the sight of the other holding a newborn with such care. Remus and Severus shared a look across the room, the adrenaline from the day finally wearing down and making them both feel the time of night. Severus stretched a bit as he looked over at Harry, his gaze going to Ivy and then to his mother-in-law and then to his son. People he cared about more than anything in this world. A stab of warmth went through him as he looked around the room, taking in the people who had become his family. His gaze returned to Remus, the one who started all of this almost five years ago. Remus caught his gaze and gave a wink, grinning to him. The fear of the unknown was still playing in the back of his head, but for now he could be content.

The rising storm met the room with an explosion that blew out the windows and forced everyone to the floor.


	34. A Quiet Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is contemplative on his birthday of the rising storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it. The end of Ice Poppies. I never thought I would see the end of this part of the series but from the start I knew that it would have to end in this kind of way. Thank you to everyone who has been willing to wait for sometimes months on end just to hear from this story, all of the kudos and comments that were left. I am going to be working on the final installment of this series and hopefully it won't take me three years (dear god, three years) to finish this one ;) Keep an eye out and I hope to see you all soon!

_July 31 st, 1992_

Harry stood in view of the mirror of his room, staring at his reflection. He had just gotten enough energy up to get out of bed, the raking pains that went through his body nearly unbearable through most of the night from midnight onward. He could hear his Papa and Severus talking in the living area downstairs, obviously trying to keep their voices down on account of the twins.

There wouldn’t be a party tonight.

Harry walked over to his chest of drawers and pulled out the cards that he had been given for his birthday from his friends. Fred and George were supposed to be living with their mother this summer as a part of the divorce settlement so it would be hard for Harry to see them before Hogwarts resumed. Harry wondered if Hogwarts would even be able to open now with Dumbledore rising in power again, though this time on the opposite side of the good guys.

The attack on St. Mungo’s had been a power move according to Severus. If Dumbledore had been able to push aside any concerns for those in the hospital, that meant that he would have no qualms doing it on the battlefield. His Papa was already talking about defense lessons for him and the rest of the school for their own protection and Sirius was making more appearances than ever in the house to talk about what he needed to teach his students now. Kaeasa was working him harder than ever, reminding him that this was war now and he needed to be prepared to use his powers to tip the scales.

Harry heard Ivy’s crying and the footsteps from the sitting room to the twins’ room. Shortly after this, Rowan woke up and was also crying in tandem with his sister. Another set of footsteps came up the stairs to join the first.

The twins were in danger now, that much was clear. They were helpless infants, easy targets for someone as deranged as Dumbledore. There were already reports of Dumbledore asking for information on him and Severus to find out why they were in St. Mungo’s in the first place. Innocent people were tortured for information that they didn’t have, solely because of him.

Harry wondered if he should leave and offer himself up to Dumbledore. That was obviously what the man wanted in the end and perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined. He couldn’t possibly still want him to go back to the Dursley’s, not when he was now twelve and able to escape on his own. The most likely scenario would be that he would be used as a front-liner. Would he have to fight Severus? Or his Papa? He knew that Severus had a great deal of training from his Auror days and could put him on his back almost immediately. Would he be strong enough to deal that blow against the child that he had raised? Would his Papa be willing to duel with his own son?

The crying quieted down and Harry presumed that the twins were going back to sleep.

Harry couldn’t presume anything at this point beyond the bare essentials, something that he hated to consider since he liked to have some idea of what was happening around him. He flicked through the cards again, stopping on a couple and smiling warmly at their contents. Blaise had sent an elaborate card from Italy, hand-printed with an emerald snake on the front. Callie had obviously made her card with a great deal of gold glitter that tried to spell out his name, though she forgot an “R”. He couldn’t blame her for that though and appreciated the effort nonetheless. Draco’s was also handmade, but his held a beautiful hand-drawn garden scene, obviously from the Malfoy gardens. Harry yearned for the days whenever he and Draco could go out to the gardens and make their flower crowns for each other.

Then there was Cedric’s.

Cedric’s card was one that he had to have gotten at Scrivenshaft’s, though it was easily one of the more beautiful of the selection that they had. It had a picture of two owls close together on a branch with the words “To a Great Friend”. The owls fluttered onto the inside cover as Harry opened it and saw that Cedric’s unsteady scrawl had written,

_To Harry,_

_Have a great birthday. Can’t wait to see you at school in the coming year. Hope that we can get to know each other even better than we have this year._

_Best,_

_Cedric_

Harry’s heart fluttered as he read these words again, a small flush coming to his face. He wouldn’t deny that he thought Cedric was fairly handsome and that being around him felt a lot like flying, but he wasn’t going to hold out a great deal of hope. He had other more pressing things to worry about than a silly crush.


End file.
